Cold FE9 Fanfic with OC FINISHED Editing
by Keiji-Aurion
Summary: Editing done up to chapter 27. Descriptions are on page 1. Flames accepted as long as they're backed up.
1. Chapters 1 to 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the FE9 Characters. The only character I own is Trigger, since he is my own original character.

**Warnings:** The following story contains plot spoilers if you have not played FE9 yet. It also contains my personal belief on the mark of the branded. Do not read this if you do not like original takes on the game's Branded race.

**Second Warning:** The Original Character (Trigger) that I have made is being related to a character in the game. If you do not like this sort of fanfiction, do not read on. As I have not learnt much about the character in-game, I thought it wasn't exactly changing history by making up this direct bloodline relation.

**Copyright:** The character Trigger, and his background, implementation into the storyline, and relations are all thought up by yours truly. If you take him, or his story, then I will transform into the Supreme Laguz and find you.

**Description:** Trigger, a young Branded, is found by Muarim in the forest while the Greil Mercenaries are there battling Duke Olivier (Chapter 17).

**Extra:** For all you FE9 Hardcore Fanboys/Fangirls out there, I have made up a stat list, growth, support conversation setup etc. If you wish to see it, you can email me at true 'underscore' pinoy512 'at' hotmail 'dot' com

**Ratings applicable during this entire story:** Gore, Angst, Violence, Character Death – More as the story progresses. I'll keep this part updated.

Please Read and Review. Enjoy!

**EDITING PROCESS:**

Aug 24, 2006; 5:03 PM - Revised chapters 1-2. Basically a little more detail; though I did change a few things around. Only minor changes; as this whole thing is just an introduction, anyway.

Yay! Put a small description of Trigger in the first chapter (since I barely ever reference his clothing, stature, or looks).

Aug 25, 2006, 07:46 PM - Edited Chapter 3 and 4. They sound better now, and have better logic.

Major change: I changed the fact that Muarim knocked him out, to a mage blowing a hole through his stomach. Revenge for the Random Enemy Mage that he assassinated. 

Aug 25, 2006, 11:06 PM - Finished editing chapter 5. I found a couple of plotholes (Like, Muarim knew Trigger's name somehow; and that the soldier that went to call them to the castle suddenly disappeared and hadn't said a word).

I'm reading the start and liking it a little more. Even if it just a little beefier and refined; it sounds nicer. Maybe because I've forgotten the start; so it's a nice refresher. XD

**Chapter 1**

« Cold… everything is cold… so cold. And yet it burns. The Serenes ablaze like the fury inside of me. If I am ablaze why am I cold? Why did this happen? The beorcs… they… » The young child named Trigger said. He wore nothing more than a simple dark purple shirt, and black pants. His dark purple hair matched his shirt, and his eyes were nearly the same colour as his garments. He had two daggers tied onto his back; and clenched a hand on each hilt.

Sitting under a broken arch, the dark colours helped him blend in well with the small shadows. Trigger was a thief in the Begnion area; who took refuge in the Serenes. But now, there was something amiss in the forest.

"They are here again." Trigger said. "They intrude. They defile our forest, the forest of the laguz. They must not leave this time... I will not allow another calamity to take place; not here!" He said ferverently.

He watched as the Greil Mercenaries entered the forest with the apostle. He didn't know them yet to be these people; to him they were just another party of beorcs; beorcs who invaded the forest. Some were left behind as the bulk of them moved on inwards. He waited until the ones left behind sat and tried to relax, and then he began to move out from under the arch that he sat under.

Then battle cries were heard. The familiar clang of metal echoed through the night like a shriek from a banshee. Those left behind stood up immediately, fear in their faces. Trigger ducked behind a broken pillar, and soon the clang arose again. He gazed to its general direction, and growned.

« This is not right. There is no more need for battle in a place so desolate like the Serenes. Leave us in peace. » He thought.

He began to creep slowly towards the battle sounds, each ring stinging at his ears. Eventually, he had to resort to crawling into the darkness of the forest itself; but from here he got a better view. He crept along the edge; finding two different groups of beorcs fighting. One was easily recognizable as the first group he had seen; the one that had broken up.

« They fight amongst themselves in a place they banded together to destroy. Do they really wish to disturb the peace that has long been lost; and only temporarily replaced? The irony... » He thought.

He watched as the two sides clashed; and soon he realised that the first group were much more skilled. The other group; seeming to defend something, had no chance at all. The first one easily left a wake of defeated enemies; some of them dead, others gravely injured.

Trigger walked out from the shadows; seeing that the first group was now gone. He walked across the battlefield; horror flashing in his eyes. Only a few hours ago, this clearing was void of any life; and yet remained pristine. Now, it was littered with stains of blood, and bodies lying everywhere. Trigger, upon closer inspection, realised that most of the downed people were soldiers.

"O-Olivier… pro… protect Olivier…" A downed soldier said to Trigger. He must have been blinded by death, for he could not tell Trigger apart from other soldiers. Trigger spat on the ground by his head, and the man fainted. Or, he died; Trigger couldn't tell. But he didn't want to. He hated battles, and he hated wars. He hated having to watch people die in front of his eyes.

Like that night two years ago... That night when the beorcs came, and had burnt the village. Why? Over the death of their apostle. Whom they thought had been assassinated by the herons.

Trigger shook his head. What an idiotic excuse. The herons were peaceful, trying to live in harmony with all around them. They had no reason, nor incentive to assassinate the apostle. And yet, the beorcs couldn't accept that. They came, thinking they brought justice into their own hands.

All they brought was more pain. More suffering. And now, there was pain again. Over the man that the soldier cried for with his last breath.

«Olivier… that scum of a "nobleman"… » Trigger thought. He knew just who Olivier was. He was a Begnion noble; who lived in the area. He made the appearance that he was kind to people; but Trigger knew better. Olivier enslaved laguz, worked them to the bone; and was no better than anyone else.

Trigger spat again at the thought of slavery. Olivier shouldn't have deserved to been named a nobleman. Not when he enslaved laguz, as if they were inferior to him.

Slavery...

There was one person Trigger wanted to find. One slave that could have changed his entire past.

One slave, that Trigger looked for, in every spare moment of his life...

**Chapter 2**

"If these beorc fight against Olivier they choose a powerful enemy." Trigger said with a faint smile. Either, these beorcs were stupid enough to pick a fight with Olivier; when he had so many bodyguards, soldiers, and slaves at his command.

Slaves... How cruel, Trigger thought, it was to send a slave to fight.

Or was that why the beorcs were here? Were they here to free the slaves, under Olivier's hand? No, beorcs weren't like that. If they were here to free the slaves...

"They must want their own slaves." Trigger said. He clenched a fist, and followed the first group. "No more... no more slavery! Both parties here... I'll kill both if I have to!" Trigger said, determined. He knew that to be able to kill every single soul in this forest was nothing short of the work of the gods; but if he killed their leaders, he could at least have gotten to the point where they might give up.

He reached the next clearing and saw the first group running for an arch. He identified their leader easily; the blue-haired one who shot commands out. It appeared they ran instead of fighting; but they had already been seen by soldiers who guarded the entrance to this forest. He watched as the blue-haired leader shouted a command, when something caught his eye.

He watched as a sleek, orange cat and a lean, blue tiger walked up, and transformed into their beorc states.

Laguz. Who apparently followed the blue-haired one. Trigger frowned, and bit his lip.

«Are they allies to the beorcs? Or are they slaves, made to give up their lives to protect their "masters"… » He then saw a priest wave a Mend Staff at the blue tiger; who had a cut on his arm. The blue tiger nodded, and the two continued onwards. Trigger decided to take a roundabout way; there was a giant growth in the middle of the area and he didn't want to get caught.

As he rounded the bush, he watched as many soldiers sat here, in waiting; not even noticing that the group was making it's way past them. He edged into the growth in the middle, and peered out.

He watched as the group made it to the arch, blocked by only a few men. Laguz and beorc fought side by side, watching each other's back. Then, the entire group went through; leaving most of Olivier's men unharmed.

"They escape, leaving these men behind… Why? And the laguz… healed by a beorc… could it be he is not a slave? They fought side by side as if... as if they were true allies... " Trigger said under his breath. He cut through the trees, and dashed in the same path the group had gone. The soldiers didn't notice him, either.

He came into a clearing, and realised he'd made too much noise. He ducked into the trees on his right, and realised he wasn't the only one hiding. More of Olivier's soldiers were in hiding, ready to exit at any given time.

« They must be waiting for them- » He started to think. Then, a booming voice broke his thoughts.

"Greil Mercenaries! Surrender the heron!" One of Olivier's men said. He heard the blue-haired leader retort; but he couldn't exactly hear what. Then, the soldier made a small signal into the trees; and soon soldiers filed out from the brush.

« Heron? I had heard that Olivier recently acquired a heron… did those Greil Mercenaries rescuse him? These Mercenaries… who are they? » Trigger thought. Seeing that the forest was now open, he stealthily made his way over to the far corner of the clearing. On a map from a top-down view, it would seem he was in the bottom-right hand corner of the clearing.

Trigger crept upon a lone mage standing, not having seen the signal to exit. He was about to, when Trigger held him. He brought his dagger to the man's neck; and found himself to be a little smaller than the man, which made the feat difficult. He saw a low root and stood on it, giving himself better leverage.

"Why do you pursue these Mercenaries?" Trigger said in as low a voice as possible. He hoped to hide the fact that he wasn't very tall, or strong.

"I will say nothing to you!" The mage replied. The mage brought an elbow back; but Trigger expected the movement. He arced his body out of the way, and cut the man's throat with his dagger. He dumped the body in the bushes, and peered out from the brush. From this angle, he could see the Mercenaries working their way towards him.

The battle was taken at a cautious pace; and Trigger wondered why. The Mercenaries had make short work of the first two waves of enemies; what was the difference here?

A flash of golden locks alerted him. The blue-haired leader had a heron on his back. Trigger's eyes widened as he saw the blue-haired man trying his very best to avoid the smallest touch to end up on the heron; and he watched as the whole group went to defend him.

The Mercenaries made their way to no more than a few feet away from where he sat; and soon there was movement in the bushes near him. Trigger looked over; thinking more of Olivier's men were waiting in ambush.

Two people popped out; a child in yellow mage robes, and a tiger. The child looked mischevious and wild; but the tiger stood beside him, in beorc form, with his arms crossed over his chest. His demeanor was nothing less than intimidating; and yet he looked on with calmness and peace of mind. It was as if the child was ready to make his way into the battle; and that the tiger seemed reluctant.

"Ike! We've finally found you!" The young child said, running towards the group. Trigger watched as the child ran up to the blue-haired leader.

"So... his name is Ike..." Trigger said, perhaps a little too loudly. He watched as the tiger turned around, sensing something.

"Tormod! Hey, who else is there?" Ike had replied; not being able to see the laguz. Tormod motioned to the laguz, who stared at the brush. Trigger held his breath, and found himself nearly choking.

"IKE BEHIND YOU!" Tormod yelled back, as the Mercenaries turned around. Olivier's men had come out from behind them in full force. Tormod rushed to meet them, and the laguz started to move as well. Then, Trigger stood; but he broke a branch under his foot. The laguz stopped in his tracks, and whirled around. He stared directly at one point in the shadows, and Trigger stepped back; tripping over the same branch. The laguz began to walk in a striaght line. Straight at where Trigger sat in the shadows.

«He sees me…» Trigger said. As the laguz approached him, Trigger held up his dagger in defence. But he was shaky; scared to even move, and doubted that he would be able to defend himself if this laguz found a reason to strike.

**Chapter 3**

"Someone's here…" The laguz said. It began to walk over to where Trigger sat. Trigger held his breath, as the laguz passed into the brush. There, the foliage and the darkness would hide it from the sight of the Mercenaries. He could deal with it, without being caught.

"GET AWAY!" Trigger said, leaping at the laguz. He held his dagger straight, and aimed for the neck. However, his foot caught on a low branch and he fell forward. The laguz apaprently hadn't seen the attack; and only heard the voice.

"Are you hurt? This is a battlefield, you should not be here." The laguz said, walking blindly at Trigger. Trigger groaned a bit in pain, and looked up.

"This is the Serenes Forest! You must not be allowed to defile this place anymore!" Trigger said, standing up. He raised his dagger and pointed it at the laguz. It shone in the moonlight for a second, then he turned the dagger so it wouldn't alert the Mercenaries as to where they were. The laguz instinctively raised his hands to showed he bared no weapons; but Trigger knew that the laguz themselves were the weapons.

"I do not know what you mean by defiling this place. I have done nothing of the sort to do so. But listen to me; if you wish to make yourself our enemy, then so be it. We have enough as it is; you won't be making that much of a difference." The laguz replied.

"Are you ignorant? You all come in here, fighting, littering the ground with bodies; staining it forever with blood!" Trigger said. He still held his dagger up.

"And if you kill me here, would you not be doing the same?" The laguz replied. Trigger let down his dagger, and thought for a second. He shook his head, and brought the dagger back up.

"I'm different! I'm here to protect the Serenes! If I kill you, it will be a favour to the forest; for I'll stop further death! Trigger said. He held his stance and his dagger was still up. The laguz stepped forward; into a small bit of moonlight.

He was burly, and tall; and yet still held his hands up. He wore a bandana, that pushed back his green hair. He wore nothing more than a blue shirt and dark green pants, and looked down upon Trigger. The young boy couldn't tell what kind of face the laguz had; it was calm and yet serious; and it didn't seem to show fear, but understanding.

"I bear no weapons against you; I'm only here to help protect that heron." The laguz replied. He made no attempt at making a sudden move, and Trigger glared at him.

"Why do the beorcs come here to fight? Why do they kidnap the heron?" Trigger asked. He pushed the blade against the laguz' neck, but the laguz did not move back. Instead, the laguz pushed forward, Trigger's dagger on the brink of piercing his skin. Trigger brought his arm back slightly; not wanting to draw blood.

"This is not the time or place for you to ask the questions. I promise you, we will give you all the answers you like; just come with me. We cannot answer you in the midst of a battle." The laguz said, offering a hand. Trigger let down his dagger; and realised he let down his guard. He slapped the hand away, and walked past the laguz.

He looked at his dagger as he was about to exit; and realised that it was still stained with the mage's blood. He looked forward, and saw the mage in yellow waiting expectantly. Had he seen the laguz enter the forest?

Trigger whirled around, to ask the laguz to come out with him; to say nothing happened. But instead, he saw the laguz holding back a soldier. The spear held horizontally between both of them, the laguz turned his head.

"Run! Now!" The laguz ordered. Trigger nodded, and turned to run; but found a fist heading for his face. He fell to the ground with a sickly thud, and rolled to the side as a foot came smashing down for his stomach.

He rolled to his knees, drawing his daggers. He looked at his assailant, and looked striaght into the eyes of a mage. Dressed in red; he had thought it was the one he had killed before.

"You killed Bain! You'll pay!" The mage said, angrily. Trigger didn't understand at first, but then realised that the mage he had killed was named Bain. So why wait this long until attacking?

Trigger looked over again, and saw the laguz still struggling with the soldier. He proposed that the two had seen him kill the mage; but had noticed the movements of the laguz and the yellow mage in the trees. He then assumed they bided their time; because three on two wasn't a very fair fight.

Trigger glanced back to the mage; and found a fireball flying for his face. He raised his daggers in defence; as the heat struck his weapons. He still felt the heat around him; and felt his skin burning slightly. He brought them down and dashed forward at the mage; hoping to get in a strike before he made another move.

Trigger's dagger found a place in the mage's chest, and he smiled. He looked up, to see the mage smiling, and wondered why. He felt a hand on his stomach, and looked down; noticing the hand glowing a sickly orange. He drew his dagger out and moved back; but it was too late.

He felt his skin charring, and smelt the recognizable smell of something burning. Just like so many nights ago. Blood instantly rushed into his mouth, and the bitter taste rested on his lips. He stumbled back, and all of a sudden he didn't feel anymore pain. He felt the daggers drop from his grip, and he reached out to catch anything.

He started to lose consciousness on his way down. He tried to think to anything to stay awake; to make himself live through this. His thoughts raced back to that night when the forests were burning, and he couldn't do anything. Just like now.

Before he hit the ground, he felt arms behind him. They felt powerful and comforting; but he couldn't place them to a body. He looked up to check; but his vision left him before he could make sure.

«The Serenes...» He thought, before he passed out.

**Chapter 4**

When Trigger awoke, his stomach hurt. He looked down, and noticed that his shirt was burnt away; but his skin was intact. He checked himself by poking his stomach; and found pain rushing through his body. He started to get a headache; and suddenly thoughts rushed back into his head. What had happened? Who caught him? Where was he?

He remembered the laguz in the bushes, and the attack by the mage. He remembered how he should have been burnt in the stomach; but he was now fully intact. He shouldn't even have lived.

His mind had said not to trust anyone, to kill the laguz and get answers his own way; but when the laguz told him he promised him to get answers as long as he came quietly he didn't see the need to spill blood. He did hate killing, after all; but realised that he acted on instinct when the mage attacked.

He was ready to kill, but that was in defence, right? It was completely different from killing to get answers. It wouldn't change anything...

He sat up, and looked around. He was in a clearing near one of the entrances of the Serenes. He noticed that he had been lain on a broken pillar, and his back started to hurt. Not from the fire spell; but from the fact that the broken pillar wasn't a bed; and offered little in ways of support.

"Awake are you?" A voice said to his right. He tried to figure out who it was, but the pain in his head became a ringing and made the voice indistinguishable. He whirled to his right, and his vision blurred from the sudden movement.

"What happened? Did you drug me? Do something to me?" Trigger asked, his hand going to his back as a reflex. He felt the hilt of both his daggers, and they felt somewhat comforting. Then, he realised that he hadn't put the daggers there himself. Had the laguz placed them there?

"No, we would never do something like that. After seeing you take the spell directly to your stomach, I instantly grabbed your daggers, and brought you to our priest. It wasn't difficult to heal you after I had brought you to him." The voice said. It showed fear, and concern; but who would be concerned for him? Trigger made it a strong point to never associate with anyone.

He took a step over to the voice, and found himself crumpling to the ground. His legs were sore; though he couldn't tell why. He hadn't been hit in the legs...

A hand fell on his shoulder; and he snapped his head up. His vision blurred again; mixing in with the headache and the pain; and he shut his eyes tight. The voice laughed at him.

"It's a lot harder to move with someone on your back you know… I think I might have let you hit a couple of armour legs or something…" The voice replied. His vision started to correct itself; but he still couldn't see properly, the pain getting in the way. Someone carried him? Just who?

He felt his stomach rumble loudly, and soon the laughter continued; Trigger found himself laughing a little as well.

"It sounds like you haven't eaten in days." The voice said. Trigger stood up, the figure moving back to somewhere. Trigger watched him move to another broken pillar, and he sat down.

"I am a little hungry…" Trigger said, rubbing his stomach. His body betrayed his voice, as it growled even louder. "Okay, so I'm really hungry. I live in the Begnion area and come here whenever I can to make sure nothing is wrong with the forest. But then there was a scene at Olivier's mansion a while ago, and then one again recently. I haven't left for food in... a really long time. I can't even remember how long it's been..."

"That's good, because a friend of mine at the camp is a great cook and he'll whip you up something in no time." The figure said, jumping off of the rocky jut. Trigger's headache had now almost disappeared, other than the fact that he still couldn't remember many things unless he thought hard about it. That made his head hurt more, and he thus focused on the current situation. He then looked around and noticed something was extremely different. He didn't notice until now because his attention was diverted to remembering.

The Serenes was different now. Full of life and vitality, and colour as well. Birds sang and animals returned to the lush green forest. He stood in awe and looked closer at his surroundings. The trees had leaves, and butterflies flew. A calm, warm wind blew through the ground and he saw squirrels running across the ground; something he had never seen in the Serenes since...

So many nights ago before the incident. Trigger simply stared around him, his mouth agape. Once again, he heard the laughter of the voice.

"Yes, the Forest is back. There is much to be explained. For now, we should return to the camp." The figure said. Trigger looked at him, and noticed that he was the laguz that had found him in the forest.

Everything started to make less sense. The laguz stayed behind; but the rest of the Mercenaries were already at a camp? Why didn't he go back with them? And when did the forest return to it's original state?

There were so many more questions to ask, now. He'd have to get them at camp. The laguz started to walk, and Trigger began to follow; then the laguz stopped.

"Something wrong?" Trigger asked. The laguz took a final look at the beauty around him, and shook his head. Trigger shrugged, and the two resumed their walk.

**Chapter 5**

The camp was everything he expected, and yet nothing like he ever thought it would be. He knew that there would be tents and things pitched, but he expected hundreds of soldiers and such. Instead, the camp was composed of mainly a large tent, with three tents behind it. The eating area was beside the large tent.

Trigger and the laguz headed for the eating area, and were greeted by a soldier in green who stood by a pot. He stirred something intently, sniffing every few seconds and adding more herbs and spices as he did so. A horse whinnied off to the side, and Trigger looked at it surprisedly. It seemed to greet them.

"Oh, back already?" The soldier asked. The laguz nodded.

"This is Oscar. He's a fine soldier; and an even better chef." The laguz said. Trigger nodded towards Oscar, who had an outstretched hand. Oscar coughed, then took his hand back and went back to his stew.

"Why is the force so small? It barely seems like it could inhabit the group I saw." Trigger asked. Oscar handed him a bowl and he almost silently said thank you. He looked at it intently; as if checking for poison, and sat at a table right beside the fire.

"Everyone is inside the castle. However, a select few of us have decided to make sure that none of Olivier's men were foolish enough to come out and plot something against the apostle. Olivier himself was captured, but there are those always loyal to a reasonable amount of money." The laguz said. Trigger fell silent as he started to take a slurp of the soup

"This is good… uh Oscar right? You're an amazing cook!" Trigger said, holding out an empty bowl. The laguz hadn't even finished half of his bowl, and they had all noticed it. Oscar and the laguz simply laughed, and Trigger blushed.

"Haha, everyone says so. But only a few eat like you. Next time, savour my tastes." Oscar said, handing Trigger another helping. Trigger blushed redder, and took the bowl.

"Oh, but I did! The small pinch of rosemary added a nice light taste that stood out but didn't defeat the soup, and the mix of rabbit, beef and pork meats are really flavourful! You must have cured those and spiced those for a while!" Trigger said. Oscar looked at him wide-eyed, and the laguz nearly choked on his stew.

"What? Well, don't go telling all my secrets!" Oscar said, blushing. He laughed embarrassed, and then noticed someone running up to them. His face turned to sadness as he sighed, and closed his pot.

"Something wrong?" Trigger said, downing the bowl again. He let out a small burp and blushed. He realised that the pot was closed, and then the soldier ran towards Oscar. He whispered something, and Oscar looked to the laguz. Then, the laguz nodded, and stood; downing his bowl of stew.

"We're going to the castle. We're done here. But we'll have to pack everything and bring it back; since this is part of the camp that we use regularly. Though..." Oscar trailed off, trying to find a way to pack up the pot of soup. Trigger noticed that the soldier stared at the pot, and smiled.

"Well, since I don't have any actual things I'll carry the pot back, how's about that? I'll start already, since I'll probably be slower anyway." He said, taking the pot. It was heavier than he expected; and grabbing it, he realised that it was made of a very heavy metal. The handles were already hot from being over the fire, and that didn't help. It was full of the soup; he was sure Oscar wouldn't mind if he took a few ladles of it on the way.

"Really? You're genuinely nice and kind; it's hard to think that we found you in the forest being attacked. Why would Olivier's men pick on a child?" Oscar asked. Trigger nearly dropped the pot, if the laguz that had saved him hadn't caught the bottom of the pot. He wondered how the laguz didn't burn himself.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that we saved him, drove Olivier's men out, and now we return to the castle. Come on, I'll guide you and help you with that pot." The laguz said, taking one side. He heaved it like it was nothing. Trigger was sure that he could have carried it with one hand, from the bottom; high above his head. He probably wouldn't have spilt a drop, either.

"I don't think he'll appreciate that." Oscar said with a smile. Trigger looked back and placed a finger on his lips in the shushing motion. Oscar laughed, and Trigger blushed again.

"Oh? Why not, it's quite heavy." The laguz asked. He lifted it up, showing Oscar how easy it was. Trigger found himself being lifted to the tips of his toes, and strugged to keep a grip on the side.

"He was going to empty it on his way there. He really likes my cooking." Oscar said, happily. The laguz looked down at Trigger, and Trigger looked back somewhat in fear. Then the laguz smiled. Trigger realised that he wasn't going to get punished, and blushed again.

He'd never been so red so many times in his life. What was this he was feeling, anyway? Being close to beorc and laguz at the same time never harbored any good feelings; but this was different.

"You'll get along just fine with many others, you'll see. Anyway, meet you at the castle Oscar!" The laguz said. Oscar nodded, and left to go pack up. Trigger noticed as Oscar went over to the horse, and whispered to it. He gave it a feedsack, and guided it to one of the smaller tents. So he was a cavalier?

"Besides, I didn't get that good of a taste yet. Maybe I can sneak one too." The laguz said, once Oscar had left. Trigger smiled and the laguz let out a chuckle, then they started their walk.

On their way there, as planned, they stopped a few times to get some stew. By the time they had reached the walls, a third of the pot was already empty. The pot itself was about three feet high and a foot in diameter; so that was a hefty amount of soup.

The walk to the city wasn't very long, but on his way Trigger became overjoyed by the scenery. The green had never been to lush and beautiful, not near the Serenes. The grass was usually brown, or even gray, and dead. It was usually wilted, and hardly blew in the wind. Now, as low, warm breezes brushed over the fields; Trigger watched as waves of grass bended with the winds.

Things sure had changed.

"Well. We're here." The laguz said. Trigger only stood in awe at the city.


	2. Chapters 6 to 9

**EDITING PROCESS:**

Aug 29, 2006, 09:06 AM - Edited Chapter 6 and 7. For 8 and 9, I plan to fix the broken dialogue, and the sudden running.

Also, I plan to change the fact that Trigger wanted to manipulate Ike at first. I don't know how that idea got into my head; but it all just seemed too coincidental.

Aug 30, 2006, 12:57 PM - I found a giant plothole. I forgot that the Serenes Massacre had taken place 20 years before FE9 took place; which meant that Trigger would be at least 20.

Add to that, that he was about 8 at the time, and he'd be about 28.

But he's not.

It's explained in the Branded Transformation Chapter (Chapter 34).

**Chapter 6:**

The two walked, still carrying the soup pot, and headed straight up the main road. The road itself was lined with tall houses; nearly identical save their colour. They were narrow and tall, and each one had the same number of windows, in the exact same place. As Trigger and the laguz headed up the street, the road itself began to incline.

As they passed, they noticed many people stepping out of their houses. Left and right, home after home, people continued on in their daily lives. Apparently, two people carrying up a soup pot wasn't weird enough for them to stop and take a second glance.

The stone road was smooth and finished, yet the slope that it was on made the pot even harder to carry. Trigger grunted as he heaved the pot a little higher.

"You alright?" The laguz asked him. Trigger nodded. He wasn't going to bail out now. "Don't strain yourself." The laguz said with a smile. Trigger wondered how the laguz did it. They were so different in height, that the whole time the laguz had been walking with a very odd bend in his back. He must have been sore by now; but either he wasn't, or he was very good at hiding it.

"I could do this all day." Trigger said, taking a deep breath. The hill suddenly evened out; but Trigger didn't notice this. Raising his foot as if to go higher, he found himself stepping on air. Stumbling forward, he let go of the pot and fell flat on his face.

"You alright?" The laguz asked. Trigger groaned, and stood up, dusting himself off. He caught a glimpse of his clothes; and instantly became worried. They were heading to the castle; and yet he was dressed like a thief. Which he was; but he now he was going to be in plain sight. That, and he wasn't exactly presentable.

"Well, we're here, at least." The laguz said. Trigger looked in front of him, and saw this to be true. No time to change, or even clean himself. Trigger gulped, and picked up the pot again. He found the laguz brush his hand away, as the laguz took the pot in both hands. The two started their walk again, heading towards the giant opening that was the front door.

The castle was even grander from the front than from far away. It stood, towering above the nearby church and houses, and seemed like the center of the entire city. Its perfect white walls seemed to never get dirty, and the masses of windows, only told him that no matter where you went you would have a view. The guards in front were no different; their armour shined so well that the sun almost glared off them.

It seemed like the guards wouldn't say a single word; but as soon as the two were in range of their swords, the guards quickly unsheathed them. The guards thrust them to their sides, creating an "x" in front of the doorway.

"What be your business?" The guard on the left asked. The laguz set down the pot. "The public is not allowed inside the castle at the moment, I'm afraid." The guard added, seeing the laguz' bulky stature.

"We're with the Greil Mercenaries." Muarim replied. The guard looked to the other one, and they both shrugged.

"Very well." The guard said, lowering his sword. His opposite did the same. The laguz simply motioned to Trigger to enter with a wave of his head; and Trigger reluctantly followed. He tried to act as casual as possible; but he ended up looking at the ground. He wasn't exactly welcome in here, Mercenary or not.

As they entered, Trigger faced the great hall. He had never been inside before, and his breath was taken away. The floor, a beautiful pattern of black and white diamonds in an expensive marble finish littered the ground, and was covered in the middle with an elegant red rug. The walls were made of the same marble, just as white as the outside, and just as clean. To his left and right were doors, and he could see inside those hallways were stairs that led up. He looked straight up to see walkways above him. Judging from what he saw, the castle had at least four floors.

"Come on, it's this way." The laguz said, after Trigger had gotten a good look. He took a sharp left and continued down the hall, past the stairs. Trigger ran to catch up with him. They then made another sharp left into a small hall, and then ended at double doors. The laguz motioned to the door, and Trigger immediately understood. He stepped forward and knocked loudly on it, and a man in an apron and a funny hat answered.

"Soup from the Greil Mercenaries. I trust that you won't think it bad?" The laguz asked. The cook looked at it and opened the pot, smelled, placed a finger in, tasted his finger; the works. Trigger held back his laughter; the cook had to dip his finger pretty deep. He didn't have to wonder why.

"Iz good, yesh? Very good, refer your cook to uz. Georges, Renaud! Come, get zis soup!" The cook said. Two others came, heaved the pot onto a table, and dismissed Trigger and the laguz. The door shut firmly in front of them, as if the two had instantly been forgotten by the cooks.

"Where to now?" Trigger asked, whirling around. They began to walk slowly back the way the came.

"I'm guessing that you want to meet the Mercenaries, right?" The laguz asked. Trigger nodded.

"Well, I guess it is time for you to finally get your answers anyway. Come on, it's on the third floor." The laguz said, leading the way. He headed down the pasty white halls with Trigger following. They reached the staircase they passed earlier and headed upwards.

The upper floors weren't as extravagant as the front foyer; but that was to be expected. However, the upper floors themselves seemed to be of a totally different make. The outer wall, with the windows, was decorated with the Begnion crest on a drape every other window. The spaces without the crest held the most beautiful flowers Trigger had ever seen.

On his right were literally dozens of doors. Trigger wondered what was inside each and every one of them. The laguz seemed to know exactly which door to enter, and they ended up passing all of them.

They then walked through more halls, and Trigger stopped at a window to look out at the town. It made him feel grand to be so high, and so special to be in the castle. From the window, he could see the Serenes again, and smiled. It looked ever so beautiful from high above. The forest itself had never been so bright a green, and for once he could see birds fly down to make nests in it again.

"Beautiful…" Trigger said. The laguz stood beside him. They didn't say anything for a little while

"Yes it is, if you like I could show you around." The laguz asked.

"I know my way around already." Trigger said. Then, he realised what that could imply. "At least, where I'd need to go." He added. That made things sound even worse. "I uh... It sounds like you know your way around here pretty well!" Trigger said, trying to change the subject.

"Unfortunately…" The laguz replied. He frowned a little, and Trigger looked at him questioningly. Then the laguz smiled. "I'll tell you later. Come on, you have to meet Ike." The laguz said. He continued down the hall; with Trigger following.

**Chapter 7:**

"Ike is your commander. Right?" Trigger asked. The laguz nodded as they walked through the hall. They passed a maid, who bowed and smiled, and continued on. "Is it alright for you to call a beorc in command by his name only? Should you not say Commander Ike?" Trigger asked. The laguz stopped. He looked down at Trigger expectantly.

"A beorc in command? Are you implying slavery or something?" The laguz said, with a harsher tone. Trigger shook his head; he had implied it, but he didn't want to talk about it.

"It-it's just..." Trigger started. "I've never heard of laguz and beorc working together... so I thought it would be something like an army..." Trigger added, trying to sound as naive as possible. The laguz frowned at his ignorance, and Trigger shook his head. They continued to walk down the hall.

"I suppose, but he has never had a problem with it. Commander Ike sounds very formal anyway, and Ike doesn't really run things like a general. You'll see." The laguz said, after they had walked in silence after a while.

«Oh, humour me, please. A beorc in power who doesn't demand that people follow him to his exact order? One that considers everyone 'friends' and allows them to be casual…» Trigger thought. «Next thing you know, you're being forced to fight to the death while blue-hair is sitting in a tent, drinking tea.» They reached a mahogany door and the laguz smiled.

"We're here." The laguz said, opening the door. "Oh, but if you are intent on being formal, I should probably tell you that our Ike is a Lord." The laguz added. Trigger looked up at him, eyes wide; and the laguz merely laughed, and pushed the young child inside.

---

As they entered, Trigger noticed that people were scattered about the room. The child he saw earlier ran up to the laguz that had guided him and they left him, pointing him to Ike; who stood in a corner talking to two people. One was a woman with a large red ponytail, and another was a young boy, possibly older by a year or two, dressed in long, black robes.

The woman was clad in armor; but she didn't look like a General. The armor she wore was beautiful and white, and was disjointed to allow her movement. Trigger assumed she rode a horse, if her armor was built that way.

The mage was short, and his black hair matched his robes. He carried under his right arm a tome, and on top of that what seemed to be a sort of clipboard. Trigger walked up meekly, and got a better look. On the clipboard were reports of all sorts; battles, funds remaining, injuries.

"And so we are going to- Oh. Hello. Your name is?" The woman asked; seeing Trigger walk up to them. He averted his gaze from the clipboard, and looked back at her. He blushed, and scratched the back of his head.

"Ah… umm…" Trigger started. The three of them now stood, intent on Trigger; and that didn't make it any easier on him.

"Don't be afraid, we won't bite. Though Soren might." The woman said. The young boy looked back at her with a glare, and she laughed. "What? You need to lighten up a little more, Soren."

"You shouldn't speak on other's behalves. You might put yourself in a situation you won't like, Titania." The young boy said. He opened his tome threateningly, and Trigger guessed that was his play at a joke.

"Guys, please. Introductions. I am Ike, though I'm sure you know this. The young boy here is Soren, and the woman who stands beside me is Titania." Ike said. Trigger stood dumbfounded for a little bit, then he bowed. He heard a small chortle from Titania.

"You don't need to bow in front of me..." Ike said. Trigger didn't stand up straight.

"B-But L-Lord Ike... s-sir..." Trigger mustered. Ike laughed, and Trigger dared to look up.

"Looks like he knows his place." Soren said, with a sneer. Ike stopped laughing, and Trigger pretended as if he didn't hear. There was an uncomfortable silence, until the red-haired woman clapped her hands together.

"That's right!" Titania said, as if she just remembered something. "Well then, Ike, I should be going. Soren, would you mind coming?" Titania asked.

"I don't see the need. There's no point in me going with you anyway." Soren replied dully. Titania shot him a glare.

"Come on Soren, NOW!" She said, pulling him away. The mage had no chance, simply slapping her arm away and walked on his own. As the two left, Trigger could hear them mumble.

"I'm sorry… your name was?" Ike asked. He noticed that Trigger was still bowing. "And I already told you to stand." Ike said.

"It's Trigger, Commander Sir." Trigger replied, straightening himself. It felt odd to be looking at a noble straight in the eyes; as if they were equals.

"You don't have to call me commander; I consider everyone here an equal. And I'm sorry for what Soren said, but you can relax. Everyone here isn't as..." Ike trailed off.

"Mean?" Trigger ended. Ike chuckled, and Trigger felt stupid at saying so.

"Maybe. But Soren just speaks his mind, he doesn't mean anything by it." Ike said. Trigger fidgeted in place. He motioned the child to nearby chairs at a table, and they both sat down. "What was it that you wanted to ask me?" Ike inquired. Trigger took a deep breath.

"W-Well Com... Ike..." Trigger corrected. "I had quite a few questions to ask. The first one is probably the most simple: What were you doing fighting in the Serenes' Forest?" Trigger asked.

"Well, we were on request by the apostle to investigate Count Olivier's estate; she expects that he was using laguz as slaves. We had heard a rumor that he recently had acquired a new slave; and that slave had escaped. What we didn't know, was that it was a heron." Ike started. Trigger nodded, understanding this much.

"But this is where it gets confusing. We found a heron in the forest; but it wasn't Olivier's slave. We found the heron Leanne, and Olivier's men probably presumed that she was the escaped slave. We had to defend her; we weren't going to just hand her over." Ike said. Trigger frowned. "Eventually, the escaped heron, Prince Reyson, camed with King Phoenicis; and with their help, we were able to capture Olivier." Ike finished.

Trigger mumbled to himself, and Ike looked at him. Realising that the blue-haired commander was listening in, Trigger sat back and blushed. "I..." He started. Ike laughed.

"It's just… so much information that it gives me more questions to ask." Trigger said, placing a hand on his forehead. « The apostle trying to stop laguz slavery… is she trying to make up for what happened in the past? I wouldn't even think she'd know about the assassination... » He thought.

"Ha ha, that's alright, take your time. I promised to answer every question you had to my fullest extent, and I will." Ike replied. Trigger looked back at Ike, and received an honest glance.

"... Thank you." Trigger said, a faint smile now showing on his face.

**Chapter 8:**

"You said the apostle? Like the ruler of Begnion?" Trigger asked. Ike nodded. "She knows about laguz slavery? And she's trying to stop it?" Trigger continued.

"Yes. You see, the current apostle, Apostle Sanaki, is a mere child yet is much more mature past her age. She knows that the past has provided rough moments; and though nothing could breach the relations between laguz and beorc so easily, she still tries. She even begged on her knees for forgiveness from the herons." Ike said.

"That's absurd! An empress, on her knees?" Trigger said, standing up. The voices in the room quieted down and he realised people were paying attention to them. He blushed and sat down. Everyone in the room stared at him surprisedly, and resumed their conversations after a long silence.

"That's what we thought too." Ike replied with a smile. "It was surprising to see Apostle Sanaki doing so; but I guess it worked." Ike said, after pondering a little.

"So, she won them over?" Trigger said. Ike shook his head.

"I wouldn't say she won them over. Instead, she just showed how honest she was. On behalf of all her people, and on behalf of all the people from the past, she apologised. I'm glad Prince Reyson and Princess Leanne were able to forgive her." Ike replied. Trigger frowned. Then, Leanne's name made him remember something.

"You found another heron? And protected her?" Trigger asked.

"Yes; at first we thought it was the escaped one, Prince Reyson. How he'd gotten into Olivier's grip, we don't know. But the one we found wasn't him. We'd soon realised that it was someone else. We just didn't know it was Princess Leanne." Ike replied. He noticed as Trigger glanced back out of the room they were in; a glimpse of the end of the Serenes in the window.

"It's so hard to believe..." Trigger said. Ike looked back at him.

"What do you mean?" Ike asked, this time the one with questions.

"That all this is happening. You don't know what I've been through, but this is... this is all like a dream come true..." Trigger said, his voice wispy. Ike didn't want to press on, but Trigger continued nonetheless. "That night of the Serenes burning... I was there." Trigger said. Ike chuckled.

"Now that's a lie." He said. Trigger glared back at him. "I don't mean any offense, but that was twenty years ago! You don't look anything above 17..." Ike replied. Trigger frowned.

"I... I can't tell you why; but I was there. And I saw it happen. I heard the screams of pain, and death." Trigger said, his face becoming pained. Ike looked at him sadly. He was telling the truth; but he knew all logic defied the fact that he was there. "For twenty years, I guess, I've been trying to bridge relations. But no one would listen to a child..." Trigger started. "Everything I've tried, and failed it; it seems like you're completing."

"Trigger…" Ike started.

"I'm not sad, or disheartened; don't get me wrong. I'm happy that a beorc out there has the same feelings as I do. I'm even happier that many of the beorcs share my feelings. I just wanted to be a part of it, to know just exactly what is going on. If my dreams are going to come true without me being there..." Trigger trailed off.

"Beorc… you say the word with such a tone that it confuses me. You're not a beorc yourself?" Ike asked. Trigger looked away. "I'm sorry; you can always tell me when you're ready to. I don't like forcing things out of people." Ike replied. Trigger did not respond, and they sat in silence.

Ike simply sat, pondering. Trigger wasn't a beorc, and he was already more than twenty years old. Just what was he?

Ike shook the thought out of his mind. The last thought had made him think of Trigger as some sort of beast; but here he was. He was no different from Ike, or any of the other Mercenaries here, who breathed the same air as he did.

Still, something worried the commander.

**Chapter 9:**

"I have made a decision." Trigger said, after the long silence. Ike's thoughts were broken, and he looked to Trigger as if he hadn't heard what he said. "Ike?" Trigger added.

"As to?" Ike asked.

"I want to come with you." Trigger replied. Ike was about to open his mouth, but he interrupted. "Please, I want to see if this can really work. I want to be one of the first people who can help realise the dream of the beorc and laguz coming together. No more slavery, no more discrimination." Trigger said. "I don't want something to happen again... not like the Serenes..."

"You sound like a very fine idealist. However, there is no room for..." Ike trailed off, trying to find the right word. "There's no room for children on the battlefield… I'm sorry." Ike said. Trigger looked crestfallen. He was about to get up, when a heavy hand fell on his shoulder.

"Don't be so sure. Mist, Rolf, Soren and Tormod are here, and they barely look any older than he does. Besides, I'm sure we can always teach him. It seems his dream can finally come true through you Ike." A voice said from behind him. "In fact, he sounds a lot like you." Ike laughed at the last statement; but it wasn't insulting.

"Heh... Maybe so." Ike said, catching his breath. "But I will have to think about this, Muarim. But you're both very convincing..." Ike started. He looked one last time at Trigger. "And besides. Who am I to deny someone their dreams? I'm not Ashera." Ike said, smiling. Trigger smiled back. "I'll have to tell you later. For now, I think I should go talk to Titania and Soren about this. If you'll excuse me." Ike finished, standin up. He nodded to Muarim and held an outstretched hand to Trigger.

Trigger looked at it for a while, and reluctantly stretched his hand out as well. Ike ad a firm grip, and Trigger smiled, tightening his own. Ike left, and Trigger stared at his hands. Then, he realised there was still a hand on his shoulder.

"Y-Your name… is Muarim?" Trigger asked. Muarim nodded.

"Is there a problem?" Muarim asked. Trigger sat, mouth agape, as thoughts began to race through his mind. He shut his eyes as if in pain, and felt the another hand on his opposite shoulder. He opened his eyes, and found himself looking into Muarim's eyes.

Just like his mother's.

Trigger got up and rushed out, bumping on a few people as he did so. He didn't bother to say excuse me or anything, and Muarim started after him. On his way out, people asked Muarim what was wrong.

The laguz didn't know. He just shrugged.

---

Trigger didn't know why he ran. In fact, he probably should have stayed and told him. But here he was, dashing through the halls. He ran past Ike and Titania in the hall, but wouldn't have noticed them if he hadn't run into Titania. He whirled around, running backwards, and held his hands out.

"S-Sorry!" He cried, before turning and running out again. Ike and Titania simply stood, dumbstruck in the halls. Soon enough, Muarim had caught up to Ike and Titania, and the two looked at him oddly.

"Something happen?" Ike asked. Muarim shrugged.

"I don't know… he reacted oddly at my name." Muarim replied. Ike looked at him skeptically. "I told you, I don't know either." Muarim said. Titania opened her mouth to say something, the shut it; as if thinking that her words were better left unsaid.

"He came this way, you going after him? I can ask some guards to look out for him." Ike asked. Muarim shook his head.

"No. He'll be back. He's a part of the Mercenaries now, right? He'll have to come back sometime." Muarim said, nudging Ike a little bit. Titania chuckled, and Ike smiled, and simply nodded.

"Suit yourself." Ike said. He started walking again, Titania following him. She looked back to Muarim, and winked. Muarim smiled, and turned to go back to the room. He stopped at a window, and looked out towards the forest. Most of the camp was already packed up; and he could see a few figures heading towards city.

He noticed a small figure heading in the opposite direction of the returning soldiers.

"Trigger…" Muarim said, staring; and then went back to the room.

---

Trigger, once outside the castle, passed Oscar and the other soldiers as they entered town. He stopped to say hi, with a great smile on his face, and continued down the road. Oscar scratched his head, and turned his horse and chased after Trigger.

"Something happen?" He said, catching up to the young child. Trigger whirled around, and shook his head. "You sure?" Oscar asked. Trigger chuckled, and nodded. "Alright then, you be careful now!" Oscar added. He turned his horse yet again, and left Trigger waving.

Trigger ran to the forest, and smiled. He stared at the broken pillar he'd been lain on, and at the pillar where Muarim had been sitting before. He felt as if he could trace Muarim's every movement in the forest.

He went back to the fields, and fell to the ground, exhausted. He smiled, looking up to the sky.

"I've found him Mom. And now my dreams are gonna come true, too." He said, breathing heavily.

He'd found the person he'd been searching for his whole life.

He'd found him.


	3. Chapters 10 to 14

**EDITING PROCESS:**

Aug 31, 2006, 01:07 PM - Chapters 10 and 11 edited. I added some information at the start of 11, so it flowed better into the story. That, and it developed extremely minutely on relationships between Trigger and the group.

At the end of 10, at first I had Titania mad. Because she couldn't find Trigger. But that made her sound like she was on her period (which, I'm sure, she could control anyway). So, I changed it a little.

Sep 7, 2006, 09:38 PM - Chapter 12 became unbelieveably long. I put a little more detail into the fights, and made Soren uber. 

It's a whole two pages on it's own. 

Sep 8, 2006, 04:51 PM - Chapters 13 and 14 are finished.

I made Soren meaner. And I made Trigger first retort to Soren; which I guess could build a little on the "I HATE YOU" relationship they have. Mostly Soren hating Trigger. 

ZOMG I'm gonna love reading over the whole backstory part. D

**Chapter 10:**

Trigger had never felt any better in his life. He lay in the grass, laughing, simply staring at the sky. Clouds passed and he didn't have any sense of how long it had been, until the light was blocked out by a shadow over him.

"Having fun?" The shadow said, and Trigger sat up. He stared into Muarim's eyes, as the laguz smiled back at him. He wondered if the laguz knew.

"Yeah well…" Trigger started. Muarim sat down in the grass beside him and sighed. Trigger stopped mid-sentence, and glanced over at Muarim. He gazed into the grass, and that gaze reminded him of their mother. There was a photo of her on the table, as if she hadn't realised she'd been photographed. She was looking out of one of the parlor windows, as if anything else in the world hadn't mattered other than what she was looking at.

At the moment, Muarim seemed to have the exact same look.

"It's too good to be true, isn't it? Beorc and laguz coming together?" Muarim asked, after a while. Trigger looked at him, and realised that Muarim knew nothing about being his brother.

"Well… I guess so. If this stops slavery, then it is too good to be true. I'm just happy that I'm still alive, and able to see it happen." Trigger replied. A silence ensued as the two simply stared at the lush fields of grass before them. A low, warm wind blew over the fields and made the grass fall into a wave motion. The two simply stared for a while, watching rabbits leap to and fro in the grass. Birds would swoop down, catch worms, and fly off. Insects buzzed around, realising that the area was now hospitable.

"Muarim I…" Trigger started. Muarim looked at him, surprised. I'm sorry for running." Trigger said. Muarim looked down at the young Trigger, who looked back up. "I didn't know what to do. Everything came back to me..." Trigger trailed off.

"Do to what?" Muarim asked, confused. Trigger chuckled, and Muarim looked at him for an answer. "I don't quite understand what you're saying. What came back to you? Memories?" Muarim asked. Trigger nodded.

"You see, I-" Trigger started. He took back his words and fell silent, and Muarim looked at him even more confused. "I..." Trigger repeated. It felt so awkward to have to be the one to tell him. Trigger sighed, and Muarim placed a hand on his back.

"HEY! MUARIM! TRIGGER! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" A female voice called to them from behind. Both looked behind them to see Titania on her horse, riding up to them. She slowed her horse down to a trot, and stopped above them.

"Sorry, it's my fault." Trigger said, standing up. Muarim stood beside him, and nodded. "But, you already know that, don't you?" Trigger said. Titania smiled, and got off her horse.

"Beautiful, isn't it? I still can't believe it's happening." Titania said. Trigger nodded, and turned around. The three of them took a good look at the beautiful scenery. "Oh!" Titania exclaimed, remembering something.

"Oh?" Muarim asked. Titania blushed, and smiled. "You had better get ready!" Titania said, excitedly. "We're going to be leaving the castle."

"Already?" Muarim asked. Titania nodded. Trigger looked worriedly at the paladin. They were leaving? He hadn't even gotten an answer yet!

"Ah.." Trigger started. "Where are you going?" Trigger asked. Titania looked at him surprisedly; as if she hadn't expected him to ask that question.

"Where are we going?" Titania said, repeating the question. "We're moving out, to attack a Daein base. But I don't know why you won't come with us." Titania said, smiling slightly. Trigger looked at Muarim, who nodded. The young branded held back his cry of joy, and simply turned back to Titania, smiling. "You'd better get outfitted as soon as possible. Ike says he'd like to see you in battle." She replied.

This time, Trigger let out an exclamation of joy. Muarim chuckled, and Titania shrugged.

"Welcome to the Greil Mercenaries." Titania said, offering a hand. Trigger pushed past it, and hugged her tightly. It caught her off-guard, but she smiled, and returned it. Trigger pushed back soon after, and smiled at her.

"I'm ready." Trigger said, and Titania nodded. She moved up on her horse, and let him ride behind her. Muarim transformed and let out a growl of acknowledgement. Titania kicked her horse off, and soon the three were on their way, full speed, back towards Begnion.

_«Watch me, mom. Watch me fulfill my dream!»_ Trigger thought, as they sped towards the city.

**Chapter 11:**

The initial welcomings were more than open. Trigger quickly became friends with the younger members of the group. He found himself being more open than he'd ever been, and soon he found himself in front of Ike. They were already moving towards Daein, and Trigger walked beside him.

"Is there a problem?" Ike asked, seeing the young child run up to him. Trigger blushed.

"I was just wondering if..." Trigger trailed off. Ike looked at him confusedly, and noticed Trigger glanced back. Ike turned around, to see Rolf peeking out of line. The young archer had noticed that he'd been seen, and quickly fell back into place. Ike smiled.

"Sure." He said, not having to hear a question. Trigger smiled, and ran back. Ike looked forward. He had just been named Lord by Princess Elinicia, and now he marched with an army towards Daein.

---

The question that should have been asked earlier, was if they could share a tent. Usually, Rolf would prepare with his brothers, but Trigger had to set up a tent and prepare by himself. Rolf, becoming quick friends with Trigger, wanted to share the tent.

"Lookin' good!" Rolf said, from the entrance of their tent. He had received a new set of daggers from the convoy, as a welcoming gift. He replaced his worn knives with the daggers on his back and nodded. He even received a new set of clothes; considering his old ones were extremely torn and ragged. He refused to let go of his cloak, however.

He'd asked to keep dark colours, and the tailor hadn't asked a second question. Now, Trigger had brand new clothes; though nothing expensive. He was going to war, after all. A simple purple, sleeveless doublet and black pants. New straps for his daggers, which now went horizontally across his back; just above the waist. It felt odd to have them parallel; he'd been so used to them being criss-crossed, and the hils over his shoulders. But this did offer more movement.

"I'll be there behind you, so if you still feel uneasy don't forget it!" Rolf teased. Trigger smiled back, and prodded a finger at Rolf's chest.

"Are you sure? From what Mist tells me, you're the one who whines about seeing blood all the time." Trigger retorted, with a smug smile across his face.

"Wh-what? M-Mist told you?" Rolf said, taken aback. Trigger laughed and Rolf realised that he was blushing. He twiddled an arrow in his fingers nervously, and Trigger smiled.

"Hey, if you mess up I'll be there to make up for it, alright?" Trigger mused. Rolf stuck his tongue out at Trigger, and the two laughed. The flap opened more, and Trigger stopped laughing.

"Alright you two, enough jokes. Are we ready?" Ike said from behind Rolf. Rolf whirled around, blushing. Trigger chuckled, and instinctively placed a hand on his sides; to feel for his dagger hilts. Apparently, he'd already gotten used to it. Feeling them there, he exited. He took a stand beside Rolf, and they both saluted.

"Yes sir!" They chimed in together. Ike smiled. They let down their salutes, and Ike chuckled.

"Born to be soldiers, aren't you?" He joked. Trigger and Rolf blushed. "Oh, Muarim will be going with you, Trigger. I want someone to watch you to make sure you're doing alright." Ike said. Rolf looked at Trigger and chuckled.

"Ha ha! You need someone to watch you!" Rolf said. Trigger wanted to glare at Rolf, but realised that Ike had already done so. The Lord didn't mean anything by it; other than that he was about to address the archer.

"Rolf, Boyd is going to be your backup." Ike said, with a smile. Rolf looked at him, almost dejectedly, and Trigger laughed back at Rolf. Nothing needed to be said. Everyone knew that Boyd instantly became overprotective, and barely let Rolf get a shot off on the battlefield.

"Great. I might as well just not bring my bow at all." Rolf whined. Trigger smiled, and Ike did as well. He ruffled Rolf's hair, and stood up.

"Alright you two, get going. Crimea marches in 5 minutes!" Ike said. The two gave another salute, and ran off to their respective positions.

---

The company stood still at the bottom of a large hill. On top was a fort, the first step they'd have to overcome in order to make their way into Daein. Tanith; the newly joined Pegasus Knight flew high above them, and then descended.

"What's wrong, Tanith?" Ike asked when he saw she looked very troubled.

"From what I saw, there were many mages with long-range books. To make matters worse, there are archers as well; and not to mention the fact that the halls are so tight that we can barely fit two people side by side. It'll be a slow fight." She replied. Ike looked at her troubled, and then Soren came from behind.

"It seems that they also have wyvern units to our right. They'll make contact in 5 minutes. We need to split up." Soren said. Ike nodded. They had to have a group keep the bottom busy while another went through the battlement. He looked to the right; and could already see the faint outlines of the wyverns. They flew at a low level, and at a slow pace; but a determined one. There was little time.

"All right, everyone listen up! Rhys, Muarim, Trigger, Kieran and Mia, stay down here and defend the flank. You'll be facing wyvern units as well, so Soren will stay down here with his wind tomes. Everyone else, get ready to charge through the halls!" Ike said. Trigger looked to his right, and could see the wyvern units coming even closer. He stood closer to Muarim, who instinctively placed an arm around Trigger.

"Can you do this?" Muarim asked. Trigger nodded, and took a deep breath. Then the wyvern units started to pick up speed; and Ike ordered their movement as well. Trigger felt his brother's hand leave him. He looked up to see him place his headband on, and then transform. That headband was called a demi band, and would allow Muarim to stay transformed. Muarim and Kieran started to dash forward, and Mia looked at Trigger.

"We can do this, right? They're just dragons…" She said, somewhat scared. They had met earlier, and it seemed to be a totally different Mia from before. She was usually energetic and willing; but now fear had struck her.

"Calm down, Mia. What happened to the girl I met earlier, ready to fight anything?" Trigger joked. Mia glared at him.

"I'm not too uppity on the fact that I'm going to be fighting a dragon, and at the same time be dealing with the rider. Two on one isn't exactly fair." Mia said.

"But that's their weakness." Rhys said, matter-of-factly behind them. Trigger nodded, and Mia understood.

"Ready?" Trigger asked. He watched as Muarim and Kieran started to engage one of the wyvern units.

"No, but here goes anyway!" Mia said, running forward. She seemed to have regained her energy, at least. Trigger smiled, and followed her into the fray.

**Chapter 12:**

Muarim and Kieran kept themselves busy with one winged rider, as another one bypassed them and headed straight for Mia and Trigger. Mia ran past him, and leapt at the wyvern's rider. He raised a steel lance at her, and easily had more range than she did. He stabbed at her as she barely blocked in mid air, and pushed her back. She let out a scream, being pushed back. She angled her body to one side, caught the spear in her hand, and jerked it towards her. Her attempt at pulling the rider off failed; but it had gotten both of his hands off the reins.

Trigger ran at the wyvern, who eyed him intensely. Even if the wyvern and the rider were two different people; neither one were very well-off alone. The wyvern wasn't very smart, and the rider wasn't very powerful.

The wyvern went to bite at him and Trigger barely dodged to his right. It was almost as fast as he was. « Too bad it's only almost…» He thought, as he did a sideways cartwheel to his left, dodging the wyvern's tail swipe. The wyvern wasn't very smart, as it began to make its rider have to take its reins for a second to keep it still. 

This opened up a chance for Mia. She was still holding onto the spear; which was only lightly clutched in the rider's hands. She pulled it again; making the rider instictively tighten his grip. Seeing that she wasn't going to fall, she somewhat pushed off with her gripped hand; flinging herself at the rider. He brought both of his hands up; barely blocking Mia's sword with his bracers.

Trigger smiled in the corner of his mouth, and ran forward at the beast. It lunged at him with its mouth gaping, but this time he rolled forward. The mouth of the beast grazed across his back; and he could feel the wyvern's hot breath against his skin after it had ripped his new clothes apart. He brought his dagger up into the beast's neck, and found the scales to be less resilient under the dragon. It didn't pierce easily, but his dagger did go in, and black blood seeped down his dagger and over his hands. He wanted to push his dagger in more; but the blood was thinner than normal blood; and he found his hands slipping on the grip. As it ran down his hand, he felt his stomach churn.

The wyvern shrieked, but Trigger knew that one hit wouldn't take it down. He drew his dagger out and rolled to his right to dodge claw swipes and the stamping of the rampaging wyvern. It was too erratic now; too hard to predict the movements. It beat its wings rapidly and Trigger hadn't seen it. They whooshed, and swept him off of his feet. He landed on the ground a few feet back with a thud, and only got a shaking of the head as he looked at Soren. He got up, but Soren put a hand in front of him.

"You're not ready." Soren said, opening his tome of magic. Trigger wanted to retort, but found the words sticking in his throat. He watched Soren's arm, and it moved back to the tome. It began to glow green and he raised his hand. The winds around them moved faster and faster, until they could be seen in the air as white blades. Trigger found his clothes whipping around, and his hair flipped around wildly. He brushed the hair out of his vision, and watched Soren.

Easily, Soren moved his hand in a series of motions, mumbling the incantation required. He pointed at the wyvern and the wind blades ripped through the wyvern easily, taking off wings first. They then circled around in mid-air, and came through the wyvern's body. They ripped through the scales as if they were simple blades of grass. Trigger watched as the beast's limbs were lopped off easily.The wyvern sagged down almost instantly once it was hit, almost instantaneously dead. Soren smirked, and raised his hand above him. A single blade rose in the air, then he brought his hand down sharply. The blade whizzed downwards, cutting through the beast's stomach. As the blade hit the ground, a wave of air pushed out; making Trigger fall again. Soren, however, stood unfazed.

The rider flew off, and moaned. He looked up to see Mia smiling, as she drove her sword through his chest. He let out a final gurgle, barely being able to register what had just happened. But it didn't matter; as he never would again. Mia took her sword out with a sharp tug, and sheathed it.

"Impressed?" Kieran said, riding up to Trigger. He let down his hand and heaved Trigger up. Trigger brushed himself off and shook his head, somewhat out of disbelief.

"It's just..." Trigger said, trailing off. He thought back to the blood, and shut his eyes. Kieran quickly understood, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen. Killing isn't easy; nor is it enjoyable. It's a lesson we'll all have to learn, and push past one time or another." Kieran said. Trigger looked up at him, and shook his head. "Don't believe me if you like; but coming from a Crimean Knight, this is the cold truth of war." Kieran said, proudly. He even placed a fist on his chest when he said the words 'Crimean Knight'. "What's wrong?" Kieran asked, seeing Trigger's face still showing uncertainty.

"It's so..." Trigger started. The word was on his lips, but he didn't dare speak it. Kieran pointed his spear at Trigger.

"If you can't accept it-" Kieran started, prodding his spear into Trigger's chest. "Then you're only a casualty." The cavalier added. Trigger's heart sank. Muarim approached, with his demi band off. He placed a firm grip on the spear, and moved it aside.

"Calm down , the fight's not over yet. Here come some more." Muarim said. He pointed at the forest they had walked through and they saw that three mounted soldiers came darting out. Each had a spear in hand, and Kieran smiled. Muarim put his band back on, and transformed once again, but Kieran placed his spear in front of the laguz.

"I can handle this!" Kieran said matter-of-factly, and he rushed forward. He charged at the first soldier, on his right, who jabbed his spear forward. Kieran bent to his left and the spear passed under his right arm. He then clasped the spear between his arm and his ribs, and jerked backwards; taking the spear from the rider. Though stupidly, the rider did not let go of the spear. With the sudden motion, the rider fell off and Kieran took the spear in his left hand; now dual wielding spears as his horse rode straight forward. 

Seeing that the other two riders would soon pass him, Kieran urged his horse to turn around with his legs only. His horse wheeled in a narrow U-turn, and the other two riders started to catch up. The other two riders rushed at him at the same time, and jabbed for his horse's side. He brought both weapons down and blocked, and kept bringing his weapons around in a circle. Again, the enemy riders wouldn't let go of their weapons; and the circular motion was so awkard for them; until both of the soldiers were disarmed. As they lost their weapons, they also let their grips go on their horses. Kieran jutted the butt-end of the spears into the horse's sides, making them buck and throw off their riders.

The first soldier had gotten up but stared straight into the cold green eyes of Muarim. The laguz growled and the soldier scrambled back, finding a spear on the ground. He raised it at Muarim and jabbed forward, but Muarim leapt over him and tackled him to the ground. He clawed at the man's chest, leaving a wound. The soldier looked back up to see Muarim, then nothing.

Trigger looked onwards at the horrible sight of war. Even his own brother had to kill, and he would be expected to as well. He would have to. Could he really handle this?

**Chapter 13:**

Trigger didn't have time to think. A fallen rider was getting up, and unsheathed a spare sword. Trigger withdrew his daggers; and noticed they were still slick with the black blood. Looking at it, he instantly felt remorse, and disgust. The rider charged at him as he stared at his daggers; and he barely realised he was being attacked. Desperately, Trigger bent back, performing Mist had called a "bridge"; his hands reaching past his head, flat on the ground behind him, his back in an arc.

The soldier hadn't expected such a sudden movement, and found himself toppling over the young Mercenary. Trigger then pushed off with his legs; kicking the man over him. He heard the thud of the soldier's armor as the man was flung across the ground, and Trigger did a backwards cartwheel.

Trigger got up and ran to the fallen rider, who was just getting up. He brought his knee into the man's face; the horrible sound of cracking heard as he broke the man's nose. The soldier began to fall back, and Trigger took a step back as the man put a hand to his face in anger, and took his sword up again.

"I don't want to have to kill people…" Trigger pleaded. The soldier started to laugh, a low and throaty laugh. His blood entered his mouth, and he spat it to the ground.

"You should have known that when you got into this war!" The Daein soldier said, rushing at Trigger. Trigger ducked under a horizontal swipe meant for his head, and went to stab forward with his dagger. The soldier, however, started to bring his sword down. Trigger raised his arm instinctively; but realised that he wasn't clothed anymore. The blade cut across his arm easily, and he cringed in pain.

The soldier hadn't recovered as fast, however. Trigger used the opening to duck in; as the rider desperately made another swipe for Trigger's head. The young Mercenary stepped upwards; his dagger plunging into the man's chest. The soldier's heavy weight slumped on him and Trigger drew his dagger out. The soldier fell limply to the ground, and Trigger stood up. His arm hurt wildly, and the blood started to dry, along with the wyvern's blood.

"This is so horrible…" Trigger said. Rhys ran up to him, to check if he was alright. Mia went to take the other rider that Kieran had dismounted. Trigger felt his arm tingle warmly, as his wound began to close. Soren stepped up, shaking his head.

"Hurt already?" Soren coaxed. Trigger frowned.

"It's not as easy as you think. We're not all cold, heartless people like you." Trigger replied. He instantly felt remorseful about what he said. Soren smirked, not being affected by it. Rhys was about to speak up; when the mage cut him off.

"You're an idiot. You should have known that people would die. You shouldn't be here if you can't handle that." Soren said emotionless. Rhys simply stared at Soren, wide-eyed.

"I..." Trigger started. Mia had apparently finished; and walked up to Trigger. The young Branded looked over to her, and shook his head.

"You what? Expected that this could all be resolved by speech? What a laugh. This is war; people will fight. Sides will lose, and pay the price with their lives. Either become a casualty, help out, or don't participate at all." Soren said, bitingly. Trigger made a sound as if he'd been hit, and looked to the ground.

"You're horrible! How can you say that? He's just a child…" Mia said, angry at Soren. The mage smirked, and simply shook his head again.

"He does have a point though, Mia." Muarim said. He had once again removed his band and stood behind Trigger. "This is war. People die."

"Yeah but… you can't expect a child to be able to handle everything!" Mia said, not giving up. She was obviously fighting a losing battle, though. She looked to Rhys for support, but the priest shrugged.

"I can handle it. And I don't look much older than he does. He needs to suck it up." Soren added. He turned his back, and started to walk away.

"What? Soren you-" Mia retorted, starting to walk after him. A hand stopped her though, catching her arm.

"Stop." Trigger said. Mia looked back at him first with surprise, then with sadness as she knew what he was going to say. "Soren is right. I have to understand that I'm going to kill people. It's just... I begin to think about how they all have families, how wives and children expect them to come home, waiting. Then the message will come saying that their family member has died… and then… and then…" Trigger said, fading off.

"It's over." Ike said, meeting the group. Boyd stood behind him. "The fort has been taken and we even found-… Trigger? You alright?" Ike said, looking at Trigger. Something was obviously bothering he child. Then, Ike thought about whether or not he should call Trigger a child anymore, but found the thought stupid and pushed it aside. Trigger stared blankly, and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Congratulations on taking the fort." Trigger said. Ike frowned, and noticed that the newcomer had noticed. Trigger looked to the ground, and Ike attempted a smile.

"Well, you guys helped." Boyd said, looking around. Blood covered the ground and the fallen wyverns and soldiers only served to prove what they did.

"Yeah… Everyone helped but me..." Trigger said, sadly. He shook his head. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to wash up." Trigger said, walking off to camp.

"Is he alright?" Boyd asked. Mia looked back at Soren, then to Boyd. She frowned, and shrugged; then ran after Trigger.

"Trigger…" Muarim said, looking at the direction that Mia and Trigger headed in.

"You can talk to him later. For now, let those two sort things out and help us. It's time to bury the dead." Ike said, placing a hand on Muarim's shoulder. Muarim nodded.

"I don't see why we bury the opposing force's men too." Soren interrupted. Kieran glared at him. Rhys had also looked at the mage, but not with anger. He looked with eyes of sadness, as if he had hopes in Soren that were just crushed.

"All people deserve to be honoured. They did what they thought was right." Kieran said. "If I died fighting for Princess Elinicia, I'm sure that the opposing force would think the same."

"Are you kidding yourself? They're a bunch of power hungry-" Soren started.

"Can you stop it! Just…" Muarim interrupted. He clenched his hands into tight fists and sighed. Soren snorted and continued on, and Rhys shook his head. 

The mage needed to learn tact. The child needed to learn the truth. Everyone here had something to learn, Rhys thought. He just hoped the lessons would be learnt earlier, rather than be learnt too late.

There were still some lessons that he noticed, that Trigger had yet to even begin to understand.

**Chapter 14:**

Trigger sat in front of the fire, staring blankly. Mia had left him alone, and he had assured her that he was fine. His tears had stopped, but the pain inside never went away. His arm had fully healed; the gash not much for Rhys to take care of. He had washed away all the blood, and yet...

He still felt unclean.

_He needs to suck it up._ Soren's voice resounded in his thoughts. « Yeah, maybe. » Trigger thought, sighing. He looked into the fire, and sighed. _You're an idiot. You should have expected that people would die._ Soren said again in his mind. « I guess… I guess that I just rushed in. » Trigger thought. This wasn't helping.

He stood up, and the fire cast his shadow behind him as a long, black trail. He gazed into the burning embers and took a nearby pot of water and doused the fire. The last embers struggled to keep alight, and then burnt out. The shadows crept over him, and he felt better. If only a little.

"Trigger?" A voice said in the darkness. It came from behind him. He didn't need to ask any questions about the voice's identity, either.

"Muarim… I just doused the fire. Did you want to talk?" Trigger asked, turning around. He couldn't make out where Muarim stood by sight, but he could tell from the sound of his voice that he wasn't far off.

"Actually, I was wondering if you'd like to talk in my tent." Muarim said. He had a tone of urgency, and yet also patience. It was odd; it was as if he wanted to talk, and yet something about him felt reluctant. As if, he didn't want to pressure Trigger into speaking with him. The young Branded smiled at the thoughtfulness, and nodded; but realised that it wouldn't do any good in the dark.

"You sure? No one would be offended by my entrance?" Trigger asked.

"Offended? What are you talking about?" Muarim asked.

"Never mind. Let's go." Trigger said. He reached out in the dark and found Muarim's outstretched hand. It was warm and soft, and it trembled a bit. Was Muarim nervous? What did he want to talk about? He found himself being guided by the strong arms, and nearly tripped over one of the logs. Muarim had felt the movement, and quickly whirled around to catch Trigger.

Those powerful arms seemed to be no more powerful than Trigger's own lithe body, and it felt odd. Such power was radiated from Muarim, and yet it seemed out of place that he could be so gentle. Trigger righted himself, and Muarim led him around skillfully in the dark. They reached a stop; and Trigger nearly walked into Muarim. The laguz opened a flap, and the two stepped inside.

They entered the tent, and Trigger's sight was immediately illuminated by two lanterns placed methodically in the tent. Muarim beckoned Trigger over to a mass of blankets and pillows, and Trigger sat down. The pillows were comfortable and soft, and he found himself almost melting into them.

"What did you want to talk about?" Trigger asked, as Muarim had settled.

"I… I'm sorry for what they said earlier. I should have spoken up-" Muarim started. Trigger merely laughed, and Muarim looked at him with a bit of surprise. There was a bit of fear in his eyes as well; but Trigger couldn't place why they were there.

"Sorry for laughing. But you know, what they did was right. I headed in expecting to smack a few guys around, and it'd be done. I didn't even want to resort to violence, if I could have just spoken to them. I was so sure that every soldier didn't want to fight." Trigger said, looking around him. The tent was empty; where was everyone else? Had Muarim told them to leave just to speak to them? "I had to learn somehow, and I guess the shock treatment was the fastest, most obvious option. I'll have to thank Soren later." Trigger said.

"Thank him? I don't think he'll enjoy that." Muarim said, chuckling. Trigger laughed as well, and they both laughed for a good minute or so. "So, you seemed like you wanted to say something back at the campfire. What was it?" Muarim asked. Trigger immediately lost his happiness and looked around again; a look of sadness on his eyes. "Trigger?" Muarim asked.

He watched as the young child in front of him suddenly became adult-like. Not in physical stature, nor did he rapidly grow. But his demeanour, his gaze, and his whole aura just seemed to have matured at the last statement.

Was there something he wasn't telling him? Something that, maybe he wanted to hide?


	4. Chapters 15 to 17

**EDITING PROCESS:**

Sep 8, 2006, 07:33 PM - Chapters 15-17 have been edited, revised, and looked over.

I didn't change much; I liked the feeling they gave off. I did edit the story a little; and implemented thoughts of Trigger's age. I kind of want to make that a recurring thought. It is important, after all.

I didn't change much of the dream sequence; other than explain a few lines better and add a speck of detail to his transformation.

I find myself editing less as I go on in the story; because I developed so much on the feelings later on. I probably just need to edit the major battle scenes a little more. But I'll still read over it all.

**Chapter 15:**

"Muarim, I need to speak for a long time, and I can't be interrupted. Is that alright?" Trigger asked. Muarim looked at him worriedly, and nodded. "I... I wanted to tell you so long ago; when we first met... when I first heard..." Trigger trailed off.

"My name." Muarim interjected. He had just agreed to not interrupt Trigger, and yet felt right to finish the sentence. Trigger nodded solemnly.

"A long time ago, a laguz woman and a laguz man had a child. This child would later on become the slave of a beorc noble. However, the laguz man would die and leave the mother alone. She was able to find her son at first; and forced herself into employment with him." Trigger said. Muarim began to think.

---

_"Hello child."_ The woman said to him. He was no older than four, but could already speak the beorc language. _"I... have so much to tell you. And now that I've found you, we can catch up."_ The woman said to him. She had come out of nowhere; and yet he felt at home with her. Safe with her. Together they just, they just seemed to fit.

Only later, would he learn that she was his mother.

---

"This laguz woman, eventually fell ill. Finding her to be of no more use, her current slaver threw her on the streets. Then, he suddenly moved; leaving the woman alone again. She then looked for her son-" Trigger started. Muarim looked at him suspiciously. There were holes in the story, but... it was so much like his...

Trigger only looked back with the sadness he had held the whole time.

"Trigger, who are you talking about?" Muarim asked. Trigger said nothing, and then continued.

"But she found no trace. Nothing; his name didn't even ring any bells. She was so very weak, that she could barely walk when a beorc man found her on a deserted street in Begnion. He helped bring her back to health, and she fell in love with the beorc. They crossbred, and had a child. What the man never told his laguz wife was that his family was part of a long line of crossbreeds; though the last recorded one in government records was his great grandfather. His family had undergone a great deal in hiding their shameful bloodline." Trigger said, spiteful. His face contorted into anger, and his hands created a painful fist.

"It was too late, though." Trigger said, a tear running down his cheek. Muarim wiped the tear away with a finger and looked Trigger in the eye.

"Too late?" Muarim asked. Trigger sniffled and nodded. Tears started to flow a little more freely; still somewhat held back. They glittered as they fell; reflecting the low lantern light, then exploded into microsopic droplets as they rebounded off of his hand.

"Y-you see, she died giving birth. The child came out with the mark of the Branded, and his father saw this as a bad omen. His wife died giving birth to a child that showed the mark; and he cast his child out as soon as it was old enough to walk, run, and eat. The child wandered for days upon end, travelling from Begnion to Crimea. No one wanted him though; he was a dirty orphan and had no place in society." Trigger spat. His voice held even more contempt, and his fists bunched further. Tears began to flow freely, creating small rivers on his cheeks.

"He went to Gallia, but all the laguz refused him of having their blood. He went back to Begnion without knowing it." Trigger added. The winds outside suddenly picked up and the tent opening flapped violently. Muarim looked at it, tied it closed, and then sat. Trigger hadn't nudged, and yet he had seemed to have changed from his old, angry demeanor.

"The child, who was now a youth by this time, had learnt how to speak the beorc language easily; he then learnt that his father was a Branded. Easily understanding what that meant, he realised just who his mother was. He heard later on that his father truly loved him, but he couldn't deal with having a child that could give everything away. His father's slaved 'escaped' and sold everything. He had died alone on the road, with nothing." Trigger said. A single tear fell from his cheek. "It was pitiful. From riches to nothing, the youth's father gave up everything so that the child wouldn't be prosecuted."

"Prosecuted?" Muarim asked. Trigger nodded.

"Other nobles had found out about the marriage, and deemed him unworthy. They raided his house, torched it, and left nothing. Luckily, the father had sheltered the child, kept him from prying eyes. He was never known to the public. And yet, he knew the public in the few short years that he was able to stay there."

"The youth met a family friend, who told him that he had a brother on his mother's side. The brother, unlike him, was a full laguz. Apparently, seven years his senior. Their mother was kicked out when the child was about six years old. It's said that the older one should have celebrated his birthday, and have been nine when the younger one was born." Trigger said. Muarim only sat, listening to every word. Inside, he felt like he didn't know what to do.

There's no possible way that... that Trigger...

**Chapter 16:**

"The youth, having no other family to turn to, decided to look for his brother. No one helped him, and the family friend kept their mouths shut because they were suspected by other nobles in the area for being friends of the 'dirty family'. He tried to get any more leads, any possible information. But he was careless, and people started to think him a half-breed. To flee it all, he hid in the Serenes. At the age of seven, even his hiding place was no longer safe." Trigger said, referring to the Serenes Massacre.

"He saw it all; the beorc hatred towards the laguz who had done nothing. He saw the fear of the laguz as they fled. He saw the forest burn, wither and die." Trigger said. His voice now had become more confident, but he still had a tone of sadness. "He'd seen how futile it was... and decided then that there must be something that could have been done. The fires forever raged in his heart."

Muarim thought back to that incident. He had been about fifteen at the time of the incident. He began to think that Trigger was speaking of himself; but found it to be impossible. That was over twenty years ago. Trigger, through calculation, should have been twenty seven. And yet...

"The youth had decided to try and continue to stop slavery. Hopefully, this would free his brother. He continued to grow, and stayed in the Begnion area. He returned often to the Serenes, and hoped that no other forms of such treachery would be permitted in a place that had already been scarred. He ensured himself that he would protect it; and forever be there." Trigger said.

"Then, one night, as he saw beorcs enter the forest, he was found by a laguz in the trees. Things happened, and then he learnt the name of the laguz. It was the name of his brother. Then, the happiness didn't stop. He'd found his brother, and he'd found a group of beorcs who shared the same dream as him. The youth decided he belonged, and wanted to stay. Stay close to people whom he could trust… and more importantly his family." Trigger said. He sighed, as he had finished his story, and Muarim sat silent.

"I should be twenty-seven. But I'm not. I don't know how to explain it, and I can't. But I'm here now, and I don't want to leave. I might not be able to kill, I might not be able to fight; but I can dream. I'm here now. And..." Trigger trailed off. "I don't... ever want to leave..." Trigger added.

He expected a response, and found none. He felt disheartened at first, but realised that he had expected Muarim to be shocked more than anything.

"That might have been a bit much for you to take. I've told you everything I wanted to. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should be going to my tent and going to sleep." Trigger said, standing up. Muarim still sat silent, absorbing all that had been told. Trigger looked back at Muarim from the flap of the tent; but the laguz hadn't made any movement to look back.

"Good night, brother." Trigger said, before opening the flap and exiting. The winds still blew furiously, and he tied the flaps from the outside. Muarim heard his footsteps on the cold ground outside; as he dragged his feet.

"Brother…" Muarim said, as he continued to sit. It didn't make sense; and yet the story was true to all respects that Muarim could prove. Trigger was not of the age, and yet he was the same person. What had happened to him? "Trigger..."

---

"Trigger, where were ya? I was kind of worried that something got you while you were out there!" Rolf said, greeting Trigger as he came through the flap. Rolf seemed eager to talk, to do something; but Trigger felt drained.

"Sorry. I'm not feeling well, mind if I just go to sleep?" Trigger asked, rubbing his eyes. He hoped Rolf would just leave him alone for just one night.

"Sure thing. I understand." Rolf said, walking back to his area of the tent and lying down. He seemed disheartened; and Trigger felt sad. But he knew if they talked, that he would say things, or act in a way he'd never want to. He didn't want to hurt Rolf more than he'd already done.

Trigger went to his side and lay down as well. Sleep came quickly, but it wasn't peaceful.

_In the dream_

"Rhys! Have you seen Muarim?" Trigger shouted. Rhys stood right beside him, but he knew he couldn't hear him properly. They had been attacked from all sides; and now as the enemy charged down shouting battle cries he could barely make out his voice. He could see Ike, giving out orders, but couldn't hear them.

"Muarim? No!" Rhys shouted back, before Ike came up to both of them.

"We have reports of ballistae! You guys be careful out there!" Ike said. Rhys and Trigger nodded. Ike went off to try and get the other people calm as the battle was soon coming. The Greil Mercenaries were pincered, with no way out.

"What's a ballista?" Trigger asked, still at the top of his lungs. He realised he didn't know what it was.

"It's like a very large crossbow. It fires at long ranges, and it can fire bolts of pure iron or steel!" Rhys said. Trigger looked around and saw that people had begun fighting. This was a dirty trap. He ducked as a spearman threw his weapon at him, and he ran forward. The spearman tried to run by Trigger and go for his spear, but Trigger placed a dagger in the man's side before he passed him. Then, something metal hit the ground hard in front of him and he realised it was the metal bolt from a ballista. The sheer force of it being fired made him fall back hard.

He looked up and saw his brother darting in and out between soldiers. Laguz were always quick on their feet. He began to run over to Muarim, when he heard a cry behind him.

**Chapter 17:**

"Get away! Help! Ahhh!" Rhys yelled, as a soldier came at him. He brought out his Light tome weakly and opened it. A surge of balls of light emanated from the book, and flew sharply at his pursuer. They cut through his body like knives, and soon the man fell limp on the ground. Trigger smiled at Rhys; he could be deceptive at times. He looked back to his brother, and his face contorted in horror.

His brother had had his headband ripped off, and was forced back into his beorc-like form. Defenceless, he could only block as people continued to rush at him. Trigger started to run at him, but then was held back by Daein arms. He looked around him and saw at least five men on him, then stared back at his brother.

His brother reached out to Trigger, being soon engulfed by a sea of armor. He edged his way through, pushing past all of them. Trigger smiled as his brother charged to go and free him from the Daein arms; but then he jerked coldly and stiffly. A ballista bolt had found its mark in the stomach of Muarim. Trigger only looked on as his brother began to fall to the ground, still reaching out for him.

"Muarim… MUARIM!!! NO! NOOO!" Trigger yelled, and he was then encircled by something black and purple. All the arms around him were thrown off, and energy surged through his entire body. It was like a magical field, which circled him. He looked around himself and saw that it was everywhere; black and purple with random bolts of lightning running through it. The lightning began to strike his body, and he screamed out.

---

From the outside, Rhys had seen this abomination. What was it? As it began to grow, it tore up the ground. Any soldier that came into contact with it was either thrown back a couple dozen feet, or had electricity surge through his body and was instantly fried. Something was wrong… and Trigger was in the middle of it.

---

Trigger looked around in fear as the black and purple dome began to grow. As it passed over the ground, he saw bodies of charred soldiers on the ground. What was happening? He then felt something inside him, and he fell to his knees. The charred bodies reminded him too much of Muarim...

Muarim... He was killed...

Nothing mattered anymore. His brother was killed, and he wanted revent. He found himself filled with rage. Rage like from the fire of the Serenes, the rage that had built up in him that one night. His arms twitched with it, and all he wanted to do was scream. He stood up and looked down and saw that he was covered with fur. He felt himself brim with power; power like the dome exerted. With this power, he could destroy the Daein army, the people that killed his brother.

He was about to run forward out of the dome, when hands appeared on his shoulders. They were powerful, warm, and he knew their presence. And yet... they shouldn't have been able to grab him.

"Trigger! Trigger? Wake up!" Muarim said. He was alive. But how? He had seen him die. He looked down, and saw that his stomach was fine. No hole, no wound. No blood. This wasn't right. "Trigger! TRIGGER! Wake up!!" Muarim said, shaking him. His face contorted in horror, and he placed his hands firmly on Muarim's arms; trying to shake the spectre off. "TRIGGER!!" Muarim said loudly.

---

Trigger sat up, sweaty and shivering. Muarim knelt over him and his face was filled with worry and fear. "Mu...Muar? What happened?" Trigger said, his head hurting. All a dream? Muarim took Trigger in his arms and hugged him tightly.

"You had me so worried… you wouldn't wake up from your nightmare. I can't believe the story... but I want to. I don't want you to have to feel that pain anymore. I don't want you to be alone anymore..." Muarim said, hugging Trigger tighter. Trigger began to cry and hugged his brother back.

"It's alright… I'm not alone anymore. I've got someone. Someone right here and this giant family called the Mercenaries that will look after me. More importantly, there's someone that I care for and I don't want to leave. Brother… I'm fine. Okay?" Trigger said, looking at Muarim. His brother smiled, and wiped away tears. "I'll be alright… I'm not alone anymore."


	5. Chapters 18 to 22

**Game Spoilers in the following set of chapters: **  
Mia and Rhys support conversations (I'm only referring to them, however).  
How to recruit Shinon (After Chapter 18 of the game)  
Chapter 19 of the game (Though, I am adding my own twist to it)

**EDITING PROCESS:**

Sep 24, 2006, 01:19 PM - Chapters 18-22 Finished. Not much changed, really. Developing more in the Mia x Trigger relationship, is all.

Next is the battle scene. Ugh. I'm going to hate having to read over the craziness that I wrote that only made sense in my head, but not in writing. 

Hooray! Climax FTW. (cries)

**Chapter 18:**

Trigger walked out of his tent and found it to be almost high noon. The dream had taken so much time. The dream that had haunted him the whole night. He slept in Muarim's arms for the rest of the night, but even the comfort of his brother's arms weren't enough to keep the dream from replaying.

« Will that really happen? Will… will people die around me and I won't be able to do something? No. Now that I know, I'm going to prevent it all. » Trigger thought. He had stopped just outside of his tent, and Muarim bumped into him walking out.

"Whoa! Trigger, why did you just stop there? Something the matter?" Muarim asked. Trigger turned around. He looked at Muarim with sadness; and Muarim wondered what was wrong. He was sure that Trigger had calmed down from last night; but he never found out what happened. Trigger didn't wish to divulge his dream's contents, and Muarim decided that it was best that Trigger didn't relive those memories.

"Next fight, promise me that you stay close." Trigger said. Muarim looked around then looked back at Trigger. Was he hinting at the dream?

"Trigger? Is everything okay?" Muarim asked. His brother looked so worried.

"Please, just trust me. Stay close." Trigger said. Muarim nodded; he didn't have to understand. Something worried the little one, and he hoped that Trigger knew what he was doing.

"Muarim! Muarim!" Someone called. The two looked over and saw a small boy in orange running over. The boy's face was familiar, and Trigger strained himself to think of where he had seen him before. Thoughts raced through his mind, and then all of a sudden the boy's face appeared in the darkness of the night. He was surrounded by trees. Of course! He was the child who ran through the trees that night long ago in the Serenes. « What was his name… Tormod or something? » Trigger thought.

"Something wrong, Tormod?" Muarim asked. Tormod panted and looked up.

"Would you mind helping me with something?" Tormod asked. Muarim looked at Trigger who nodded. Tormod was confused; wondering why Muarim was intent with the other child.

"I've gotta talk to a few people anyway, catch you later big bro!" Trigger said, running off. Muarim waved goodbye, and Tormod simply looked at Muarim with a questioning look.

"Big bro? Muarim, who is that?" Tormod asked. Muarim chuckled, and placed a hand on Tormod's shoulder. Tormod showed obvious signs of jealousy.

"You know, it's a long story, really. I'll tell you while I help you. Now, what was it that you needed?" Muarim asked. Tormod's face instantly changed, as if he had totally forgotten that he'd asked for help. The two walked inside the tent, Tormod quickly rushing through his request.

---

Trigger headed towards one of the girls' tents, when Rhys came darting out from behind one of the tents. He was quickly followed by Mia.

"Come on, Rhys! It's easy!" Mia said, holding a sword out at the priest. Rhys cringed.

"Mia, we've already tried this! I'm not a fighter!" Rhys said, pushing the sword back at Mia.

"Uh… guys? What's happening?" Trigger said. Mia looked blankly at him, and Rhys bowed, and then he ran away. Mia started to chase after him, but soon the priest had gained too much of a lead. She skidded to a halt, and Trigger merely stood dumbfounded.

"Rhys! Oooh… He got away!" Mia said, stomping the ground. She then turned to Trigger, and blushed. He was still there; still standing with the dumbfounded expression "So… what's up?" She asked. Trigger looked in the direction that Rhys had gone in, and Mia looked back as well. "Oh, well, you see…" She said, starting to blush.

"Come on, let's talk inside." She said, opening a tent flap. She walked in, and left Trigger outside; wondering what had just happened. "Well?" She said, poking her head out. "You wanna know or what?" Trigger nodded and followed her inside. He could still see Rhys running for his life, as other people poked their heads out of their tents to see what was going on.

**Chapter 19:**

"Wow, so you want to fight him just because some fortune teller said your rival would be dressed in white?" Trigger said. Mia nodded. "And so, you pick on the first guy in white?" Trigger said. He stifled a laugh

"Hey, don't blame me! It's all that fortune teller's fault!" Mia said in retort. Trigger laughed now, unable to hide it much longer; she was quite gullible. Though, when it came down to the nitty-gritty things, he'd rather her on his side.

"Hey Mia…" Trigger said, his face losing its happiness all of a sudden. Mia knew what was coming. She'd been changing the subject for the past hour that they talked, but now she sat silent."Yesterday… with Soren… I just want to say thanks." Trigger said. Mia blushed. Trigger blushed too.

"Thanks? I don't need any; and he deserved it anyway. That kid is just plain rude." Mia said, placing her hands on her hips. This drew a small smile from Trigger. It quickly faded, as he went back to his sombreness.

"He did have a point though. I wasn't ready to face actual war." Trigger said. Mia looked at him sadly, and then smiled. She took his hand softly, and the feeling made Trigger tingle; and blush even more. He stared at the ground, avoiding her eyes.

"I was like that too, before I met the Mercenaries of course. In fact, I never really got used to it. I doubt even Soren enjoys what he's doing. But you have to tell yourself, that these people made a choice like you. They're only following it to the end; and you would too." Mia said. Trigger looked at her with surprise. "What? Hey, don't you remember me being kind of scared when we had to fight the wyverns? We did though. But I was still scared. Do you get my point?" She said. Trigger sat blankly, and opened his mouth.

"Wow…" Trigger said slowly, in response, still looking at Mia with the same expression. Mia looked at him oddly; she'd never gotten a "Wow" before from anyone in the mercenaries.

"What? Tell me already!" She said, excitedly. She fidgeted in her seat, wondering why the young boy was so amazed by her. Trigger smiled.

"You're stronger than you really let off, you know that?" Trigger said. Mia punched him, hard. He rubbed his arm as it ached with numbing pain.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She said, somewhat angrily. Trigger could tell that she was just joking, and playing along. Though, the punch did hurt, and the dullness ran through it as if he'd been punched full force.

"I thought you were always full of a confident exuberance; always full of energy. Then I realise that you are; along with other things. You're not just that girl who loves to fight and wants to prove herself. You're more." Trigger said. As he said this, he got closer and closer to her. Mia started to blush, and he took her hands. He smiled at her.

"Trigger! Wait, uh… what are you doing?" She said, blushing further. Trigger leaned in, eyes closed, and Mia leaned in as well; but her eyes fluttered. They closed shut, and Trigger heard her take a deep breath.

"Psyche!" Trigger said in her face, making Mia fall back with a yelp. He sat, laughing away, as Mia got up.

"Oh yeah?" She said, taking a pillow nearby, and brought it up to hit the backside of Trigger's head with it.

---

Rhys walked outside as if to wonder if Mia was still around. He stood outside the tent; only hearing the thumps of pillows and laughter.

"At least it's not on me anymore." He said jokingly, and walked away casually.

---

Trigger always had fun with Mia. She was always so vibrant, and so nice; and there was always that side of her that was competitive. He had to visit her again; she gave him a good beating with pillows and he'd have to repay her. He walked over to the tent that Muarim slept in, when he heard voices coming from it.

**Chapter 20:**

"Tormod wait! Listen to me!" Muarim said.

"So he's more important to you than I am? Some kid that just walks in here?" Tormod said angrily. People began to walk by the tent, staring at the flaps, then continuing on. Trigger stood just outside it.

"It's not that. He's family, but so are you. I'm not replacing you; I want you two to get along." Muarim said. He wasn't angry; instead he had a tone of understanding. "Nothing is going to take me away from you, alright? We've gone through so many hardships, that Trigger isn't going to make a dent in our relationship." Muarim said. Then silence. Trigger guessed that Muarim had calmed Tormod down.

"It… it's just…" Tormod started.

"Listen. You're more important to me than anything else in this world. You're like a son to me." Muarim said. Trigger had had enough. He started to walk away from the tent angry, but then Muarim spoke again. He felt compelled to keep on listening. "Trigger isn't going to make our lives any different. I care for you more than I do him-" Muarim said. Trigger looked at the tent in horror, and then ran. He didn't wait for the last part of the sentence.

_Only because I haven't shared anything with him. I only hope that I can have both of you by my side, forever. Can you understand this Tormod? I want to be there for both of you, and that's why I need you to get along with him. Please, try and talk it out with him._

---

Trigger entered his tent angrily, and looked around furiously. He threw clothes, and pillows everywhere; and he eventually found the unique straps that went around his shoulders and midsection to put his daggers on his back.

« I live, in total solitude, with my brother in my mind. I confide in him, and yet he still doesn't love me? I understand that they've been together for so long, but… why am I angry? I understand… right? Right? » Trigger thought. He strapped his daggers on and sighed. This anger didn't feel right. There had to be something that he could do to get his mind off of things.

"I mean, it's only understandable he cares for him more than he does for me. And here I am, all angry." Trigger said. He looked down to his arms, and they started to pulsate. It had nearly happened again...

Trigger shook his head. There must be something else to do. He decided to go see if Rolf was still training, and maybe bug him a little. He brought his hands back to take his daggers off.

"Come outside." A voice said. It was low, and raspy, and made Trigger feel uncomfortable. Someone knew he was here, and that someone called for him. He decided to leave his daggers on.

"Who are you?" Trigger called out. He could see a shadow on his tent as it walked outside. The shadow then stopped near the flap of his tent. The flap was pulled open from the outside, and the cool night air entered the tent. Trigger breathed in, and he then walked outside.

**Chapter 21:**

Trigger stepped out, his hands on his hilts already. No one was outside his tent, and he couldn't see anyone in the immediate area. Who then, opened his flap, and called him out? It better not have been Rolf, playing tricks on him again.

"Alright Rolf… this ain't funny anymore. Come on out!" Trigger said. Nothing responded but the shrill call of a crow above him. He turned around and walked directly into a body; tall and lithe, and it quickly placed a bag over him. The figure swooped the bag from underneath, and tied a secure knot. Trapped upside down, Trigger let out a hard cry. His arms were bound behind his back; which was painful, and it didn't let him pull his daggers out to cut himself free.

"Let me go!!" Trigger yelled. "Help!! Muarim!! Ike!! Anyone!!" He continued. Then, a blow was sent through the bag and it hit him in the stomach. Countless others rained on; so quickly, until one hit him square in the head. He blacked out almost instantaneously.

---

Muarim ran out of the tent as he heard Trigger's call. He went to his brother's tent, but no one was there. Rolf wasn't there either. He looked around frantically, and soon fear swept over him. His brother wouldn't call a fake signal; what had happened to him? Soon, Ike walked by accompanied by a sniper, and noticed that Muarim looked distressed.

"What's wrong with him?" The sniper asked. Muarim looked at them both, and was about to ask them if they had seen Trigger. Then, he noticed the newcomer; and that came to mind first.

"Who's this?" Muarim asked. Ike motioned the sniper forward and the sniper looked away in disgust.

"This is Shinon. He's an ex-member of the Mercenaries who just joined again. He was on the battlefield yesterday; and it took a good talking AND a good beating to convince him to come back." Ike joked. "Shinon, this is Muarim. He's the laguz that we found in the desert holding up against us." At the sound of the word "found", Muarim remembered what he had wanted to ask at first.

"Have you seen Trigger?" Muarim asked. Ike shook his head, and Shinon shrugged.

"What's the matter?" Ike asked. Muarim looked around once more, as if he were expecting someone to leap out behind him, and shook his head.

"I thought I heard him scream, and I came to check up on him. But he's not here anymore. There's no trace of anyone even taking him." Muarim said. Ike looked around on the ground as if looking for footprints, but Shinon sneered.

"Maybe you've been drinking too much." Shinon said snidely. Muarim glared at the sniper; this wasn't the time for jokes. Shinon put his hands up and shrugged again, and then something fell in his hands. It was a single black feather.

---

Trigger felt something hit his side, and it woke him up. The bag didn't help him much; he'd been in the positiong for a long time and his arms were extremely sore and hurting. He struggled to moved, and found himself on the ground. At least this let him get to his knees; but then a kick sent to his stomach sent him down again.

"This is him?" A voice said. 

"Yes, sir." Another one replied. This one was much closer to the bag; perhaps his abductor? It was probably the person who had kicked him, at least. He made a mental note to break free of the bag and stab that person first.

"You think they'll actually surrender to us if we show them this?" The first voice said.

"I don't know; but it's going to be something good to use. They're not going to risk one of their own." The second voice replied.

« What in the world are they talking about? » Trigger wondered. He was going to find out, and the bag started to open; revealing the moonlight in the dark, stuffy bag. His arms were now loose, but they hung sorely to his sides; any hope of fighting his way out was gone.

**Chapter 22:**

Ike had received a letter early in the morning. He had read it, and hurried out to Muarim's tent. He let the laguz read it, whose face only grew more and more pale each line he read.

"Abducted?" Muarim asked. Ike nodded. Who would do this? The Daein seal was on the paper, but for some reason he didn't trust it. Would they really have done this act? To Trigger of all people? And how would they have known where he was, at what time, and why?

It didn't make sense. If Daein knew where their camp was, why not make a surprise attack at night? Thought their seal was on it, reason ruled them out of being the ones who had abducted Trigger.

"And so they want us to stop advancing." Ike added, as Muarim didn't glance at the paper. "If we stop and turn back, they'll give him back." The lord said. His face was full of consternation. He knew Muarim wanted to turn back deep inside to get his brother back; but he also knew that the laguz knew that turning back was not an option.

"We can't turn back. Not now." Muarim said, reluctantly. He clenched a fist, and threw the crumpled paper to the ground. Ike looked at him sadly. "Though, I'm not completely giving up." Muarim added after a small pause.

"What's your plan?" Ike asked.

---

Trigger found himself waking up from something. He couldn't even remember being hit. He looked around and tried to move, but found his hands and legs bound to something. His arms hurt even more than before, and a sense of dizziness assaulted his head. He then noticed that he was up high; he could see over trees easily. Immediately full of fear, he began to wriggle in a futile attempt in bringing himself down.

"Now, now… we can't have you falling and dying on us." A voice said beside him. He looked to the left, and saw a crow laguz flying beside him. He couldn't even turn his head all the way; it was blocked by some sort of wood.Trigger then realised he was tied to an extremely tall pole. The laguz was dressed in common attire; he wasn't anyone of importance. Nothing more than a pawn.

"What do you want with me?" Trigger said, trying to make an attempt at moving towards the laguz. The laguz smiled; a smile that struck dread into Trigger. He wouldn't let the laguz see this, and he just continued to grumble, while trying to wriggle free.

"It's not what I want, really. The Daein see you Mercenaries as a threat; so we're going to force them out of their lands with you as bait." The laguz said. He patted Trigger's head, and flew away behind him. Trigger couldn't turn his head that far back, though he didn't have to. Soon, the laguz returned with another; and this was a face that seemed extremely important.

"So, you're awake." The second laguz said. He wore black clothes, and his hair and wings matched this dark colour. He stuck out in the broad daylight like a sore thumb; though Trigger knew this laguz could have been a prime suspect of kidnapping him the night before. It would be extremely hard to see him at night. "So full of energy… yet you're on the wrong side. What a waste."

"So what, the Mercenaries are going to come here, and take me, then we leave?" Trigger said, ignoring the remark the laguz made. "Not to kill your fun, but once they get me, they're probably going to regroup, and come back even stronger." Trigger added. He was simply trying to get the crow angry; but it wasn't working.

"Oh, you don't seem to understand. See, the Mercenaries are going to leave whether they like it or not. If they don't surrender; you die. And we kill off whoever came. If they surrender, you all die while leaving. It's all the same to us; we still get paid." The laguz said. Trigger spat in his face; and this brought a quick backhand from the laguz across his face. His cheek stung like wild fire, and he felt something warm trickle down his face.

"You say we, you say this as if you're allied with the Daein!" Trigger said. The laguz smirked. "What kind of despicable laguz are you? You don't deserve to live!" Trigger blurted. The crow took Trigger by the neck. Tightly. Air was leaving his lungs, and he choked.

"As a matter of fact… Oh look who's here!" The laguz said, sighting Ike and the Mercenaries arriving. He let Trigger's throat go, and he started to cough and spit. "Now, either you die and they watch, or they die and you watch; and then you join them as well." The laguz said mockingly. He began to fly off into position. Trigger could see Ike motion at where he was. He couldn't hear the beorc; and he could only hope they knew what they were getting into.


	6. Chapters 23 to 27

**EDITING PROCESS:**

Oct 7, 2006, 01:56 PM - Chapters 23-27 Finished!

Didn't actually change that much. Added a few more actions, and changed some minor details (like Trigger getting stabbed; and pulling out that dagger to stab the guy who stabbed him. Instead, I used his spare dagger).

ZOMG! Muarim deathy! -cries-

But if you're already read this all the way through, you know he's not dead.

Next up: Vore Trigger!

Trigger: Jugular's taste like chicken!

Muarim: Oo

**Chapter 23:**

"Next fight, promise me that you stay close." The words rang through Muarim's mind as the Mercenaries approached the battlefield. « I'm here. I'm coming. » The laguz thought. As the Mercenaries stepped forward, Daein soldiers stepped out from behind hills and from the forest around them. Surprisingly, laguz were there too; crows and ravens if Muarim wasn't mistaken.

"What? Laguz and Daein working together?" Muarim said. He looked at Ike, and then the picture of the black feather came to both of their minds. "So, the Daein seal wasn't a fake. They were working together." Muarim noted. Ike nodded, and soon a Swordmaster appeared many yards in front of them. He held up a signal; he wanted to talk. Both knew that it was about Trigger, and both approached. The swordmaster came alone; but the two Mercenaries could see that all troops around them were all ready to strike.

"So, you've read our agreement. Your decision?" The Swordmaster asked. Muarim stepped forward. It seemed weird that a laguz would speak on behalf of a beorc Commander; but this was part of the plan.

"We're not going back. We're going forward, and we're taking Trigger with us." Muarim said. The Swordmaster sneered at him. "Though, we did come to an alternate decision, if you'd like to hear it." Muarim added. The Swordmaster looked at him questioningly, but then allowed Muarim to continue. "Trade my place for his; he's just a child. I'm much more of a threat on the battlefield than he is." Muarim finished. The Swordmaster placed a hand on his chin, and smiled. He tapped the hilt of his sword; as if weighing out the choices.

"Alright. But… you're going there. We're not bringing him to you. You'll just run off with him, and plan another attack." The Swordmaster said, clapping his hands. Muarim growled, and clenched a fist. The swordmaster recognized this; and sneered again.

"… Fine. As long as he gets back to this side safely." Muarim said. The Swordmaster gave a very teasing bow, and walked away; motioning for Muarim to go with him. Muarim nodded at Ike, and Ike returned to the small group that awaited them at the base of the mountains.

---

The small group consisted of Mist, Mordecai, Soren, Oscar and Titania. The real group was hidden around the forests; waiting for a signal. They hoped that the Daein soldiers hadn't seen them hiding.

Above, Marcia and Tanith flew on their pegasi; but at the height they were at, they looked like nothing more than a two birds that circled overhead. Vultures, just waiting for the right time to come down and reap their rewards.

"Ike! So, is the plan in motion?" Mist asked. Ike nodded. It was all up to Muarim now.

---

Trigger noticed that two people were approaching his post. He was in the far back of the clearing; he could see everything. He had noticed that though it was only a small group that came with Ike, no more than perhaps six people. Only one was returning; he wondered where the other person had went.

It dawned upon him that one of the people who had met with the Daein general was now the other person returning. As the two people got closer, Trigger saw that one of them was Muarim.

"Muarim! Muarim! What happened?" Trigger asked. Muarim looked up, and shook his head. The Swordmaster laughed, and he then ordered a soldier to come to him. Trigger's ears strained to listen to what they said.

"They're fools. They've given us two hostages; kill that small group down there. The leader is with them; with this move we shall break their morale and force them to retreat!" The Swordmaster said. The soldier saluted, and soon the Daein forces were in movement. Trigger could see that they wheeled out ballistae from their camp through the forest. Also, the laguz started to appear as well; and the one that seemed to lead them was the arrogant one dressed in black.

"Sir, the troops are ready; but the Crimean army has seen our movements! The small group is readying to attack!" The soldier said. The Swordmaster smiled, and waved it off.

"Does it matter? There's so little; we barely need to move. Let Naesala and the crows take care of them. If they somehow get past those filthy sub-humans, make sure the ballistae are ready." The Swordmaster said. He then looked over to the black-clad laguz. "You get that Naesala?" The Swordmaster yelled. Naesala waved him away with a hand, and started ordering crows around.

« Naesala huh… I'll remember that name! He'll pay for putting me on here!» Trigger thought, eyeing the laguz. He wriggled again, and his body died away into a dull numbness. More orders were shot around, and Trigger eyed the battlefield. Soon, the Mercenaries were trapped in the bottom-left corner of the clearing.

"He better know what he's doing." The Swordmaster grumbled. He then remembered that Muarim was a prisoner and ordered two crows to tie him to the pole; on a lower level. Muarim complied, and Trigger was amazed that he'd given up so easily. His brother was backhanded fiercely; but Muarim gave nothing more than a weak growl. The crows laughed, and tied Muarim to the pole; and headed off to battle.

"Attack!" Naesala ordered, and the crows began their move towards the Mercenaries. Trigger could faintly see their outlines; but saw that they readied themselves for battle. They stood no chance; especially not in these conditions. They would have to climb the hills; where the crows and ballistae waited. The crows could fly at them; out of range, and easily retreat back up the hill if needed.

"NOOOOO!" Trigger yelled futilely, aching to escape from the bonds that held him. He looked down at Muarim, who was staring back up at him, but what surprised Trigger was that Muarim had a smile on his face. Muarim looked away; to the forests around them, and roared loudly. As soon as the roar was let loose, two soldiers tried to hold him down; but then more Mercenaries charged out of the forest on all sides. It was a deceiving plan, and yet so simple.

As Mercenaries came out; they branched off. Some up here to help Muarim; and some went towards Ike at the bottom. A pincer attack so easily executed. Trigger looked back to the Swordmaster, who was in shock at what happened around him. He barely had any time as he ordered his units to move out, the ravens obviously too far to help him now. Muarim leapt up; already transformed, and clawed at the ropes that bound Trigger. How he'd escaped, Trigger wasn't sure, but he found himself falling. His limbs were weak from being bound, and he fell at an alarming descent; trying to cling at the pole. He was too weak, and he found it hard to get a good grip.

Before he hit the ground, a hawk came from behind and swept him up, then placed him gently on the ground.

"Who-who're you?" Trigger asked. The hawk looked at him sternly, as if this wasn't the time to ask names. It really wasn't, but Trigger just had to make sure the enemy hadn't caught him.

"Ulki. I'm also here with Janaff, another hawk. We're here with Prince Reyson; on behalf of his wishes. You could say we're part of the Mercenaries now." Ulki said. They barely had time for introductions, as the soldiers now had turned towards them and started to run. "Can you fight?" Ulki asked. Trigger waved his limbs around, and found that they had started to recover; but were nowhere near useful in a fight. Ulki threw two daggers at him, and he was surprised he caught them. "We've got this under control. Don't get yourself killed." Ulki said. He flew into the fray, and Trigger knew he had to join in sometime soon. 

He eyed the hill where the ravens where, and started to run in that direction. He still had to pay Naesala back for what he had done.

**Chapter 24:**

Trigger was running about the fray, taking what one could call pot-shots at soldiers. As he ran through the fray, still too weak to actually engage in a fight, he would run by soldiers that were distracted and gain a free shot at them. It was their fault for not paying attention; at least, that was what he thought. As he ran past another one, jutting his knife downwards into the back of the soldier's knee, essentially crumpling the man to the ground in a pool of blood and cries; he looked up and saw his target: Naesala. His fist clenched and he pulled the dagger out roughly, cutting up the soldier's leg.

He didn't know why, but he had rejuvenated strength all of a sudden. He felt he could wipe out the whole army; just to get to that crow. He started to run at Naesala, but then the hawk named Ulki flew up to him. Ulki seemed to say something and Naesala looked surprised, then Ulki flew off. Naesala headed in Trigger's direction. He raised his dagger, but then the crow flew straight over him and continued past him. Trigger saw that he headed towards Prince Reyson; was he attempting to kill the prince? Trigger ran back, wondering what the crow would do. He expected something that low from the crow. Naesala reached Reyson, and then…

Naesala ordered a retreat. Trigger stood there, as the crow's commands bellowed over the battlefield. The crows all looked around somewhat confused, but decided not to doubt their leader. They began to retreat, one by one, into the forests and hills surrounding the battlefield. Soon, the Mercenaries were almost equally matched in numbers to the Daein forces.

« Why? Why would he just order a retreat? What did Prince Reyson and that Ulki say? » Trigger wondered. His thoughts were cut off, as a spearman came charging at him. The battle was far from over.

Trigger leaned back and the spear passed over his stomach; grazing it lightly. He winced as the cool air stung the open wound, but instead he held back the temptation to yell out. He wouldn't let the Daein soldier have that small victory from a measly scratch. He continued to lean back and kicked upwards, using his hands as his "legs". He wobbled a bit, his arms still numb; but determination kept him going. Making what seemed like a backwards cartwheel, he kicked the spear out of the soldier's hands. It landed to his right with a thud.

The soldier looked at him, somewhat in awe at the aerobic manoeuvre and also somewhat in shock. He wouldn't let himself be bested by a child, and he removed something from his back. Trigger couldn't see it from right in front of him, but soon he was ducking swipes from a sword. The soldier was skilled; and he barely even let up. Trigger could barely find time to breathe, as he was forced to react as soon as he had dodged. He rolled to his right; but when he did he rolled over his sore arms and legs. He got up and winced in pain again; these weak limbs were becoming a nuisance.

"Tired, are you?" The soldier said. Trigger looked at him defiantly, and spat at his feet. The soldier smiled, and charged forward at him. He stabbed forward which made Trigger hop to his right. The soldier then swung his sword in a wide arc, and Trigger leapt high into the air to avoid it. He realised he had left himself open; as he was beginning his descent the soldier was already waiting. He then saw a flash of green and smiled. The soldier looked at him, almost as if in wonder to why the child was smiling. Then; that same flash of green collided with him. He was knocked to the ground, unconscious, and his sword flew from his hands.

"You said for me to stay close. Sorry it took a while." Muarim said. Trigger smiled and nodded. "You okay? You seem like you're hurting." Muarim asked. Thinking about it brought back the aching pain, so Trigger attempted to block out the memory and simply nodded. "Good; it's going to be a rough fight. They've realised that they were deserted; and now fight with anger coursing through them."

**Chapter 25:**

Muarim was right. The soldiers began fighting fiercely; hardly dodging, hardly moving really. The snipers sat, shooting arrows at closer units and used the ballista when they could. They were pulling out all the stops. Trigger looked around in the confusion and saw that they didn't seem to care anymore. The Swordmaster ordered them to fight to the finish; and to top that they were also angered by the fact that the laguz had deserted them. They stood alone, isolated on the battlefield; but wouldn't go out with a fight.

The Greil Mercenaries, however, provided more than a challenge.

Spells flew, arrows whizzed, and the clang of metal rang through the air. Soon enough, the Mercenaries slowly worked their way towards the Swordmaster, from both sides.

"Ahhh! Help me!" Rhys yelled from behind him. Trigger whirled around, and soon he could see everything around him like it happened in the dream. A soldier approached Rhys slowly, a crude smile on his face. His sword was in his right hand, and he took steps almost taunting Rhys to run. Trigger just stood there, unmoving, and soon he couldn't distinct between the reality and the dream.

Something was wrong though; Rhys wasn't dressed the same way as before. He didn't have a bishop's hat, and no Light Tome was in sight. He couldn't put his finger on what was different other than that. He half expected the priest to pull out the book from under his robes and easily overpower his enemy; but he didn't. The swordfighter was now a few feet away. Trigger decided to help Rhys, but he found he couldn't move. He wondered what held him back; he wondered what would not allow him to help the priest. He merely stood there; a statue, an unmoving golem.

A blur of green stormed past him, and charged at the soldier. The soldier whirled around; but it was too late. The blur of green was the last the soldier saw. "Pull yourself together! We can't let our healers be attacked!" Ulki scolded. Trigger frowned, and nodded; the hawk had seen the whole thing. Everything was different from his dream; so it wasn't going to happen… right?

Trigger began to run to the priest, who looked at him somewhat worriedly. "Everything okay?" Trigger said, trying to make a tone that sounded as calm as possible. Rhys nodded, and dusted himself off.

"I was a bit worried there; but the question is are YOU okay?" Rhys asked back. "You don't look too good..." Rhys added. Trigger looked at the Priest solemnly, and Rhys decided that it wasn't the time to pry.

"It's great and all that you can fight and move again; but the fight is nowhere near over. The Mercenaries are almost in contact with the leader; and they're expecting us to pincer. Mia, Stefan, and Zihark are already in position. Prince Reyson and Janaff are almost there as well. We'd better join up." Ulki said. Trigger looked to the ground and nodded, and then the three of them started to fight their way over.

Their made their way easily past the small amount of enemies that attempted to block their way. Trigger had now regained enough strength to fight proficiently, and the hawk swerved in and out; clawing and pecking aggressively. Rhys was alert as well; he dodged efficiently and took care of even the most minor wounds that either Trigger or Ulki received. Trigger had a smile on his face; the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

_« It's different. It's not the same. It won't happen. He'll be alright. I've gotta take care of myself. »_ Trigger thought. He could watch Muarim a few yards away; transformed and easily weaving through the fray.

It would be okay.

**Chapter 26:**

Trigger kept moving forward, and soon the number of enemies that blocked his way increased. It seemed that they had made a final attempt to block them from reaching their leader; but it wouldn't work. He was determined to let this swordmaster know that trying to use him as a hostage was a big mistake. He had almost reached the swordmaster, when he was suddenly grabbed from behind and thrown back. He landed on his feet, and Trigger found himself standing in front of two berserkers, who had smiles on their faces.

"'Ey, look! It's just a little kid. And we were so worried about some powerful warrior coming to get us!" One of them said. Trigger smirked, and then ran at the two. They both readied bows they had strapped to their backs, and fired at the same time. It became soon apparent that they weren't the smartest fighters. He easily dodged to his left side as both arrows whizzed past him. If he hadn't changed course, he would have two wooden sticks prodding through his stomach.

The berserkers furiously shot another wave of arrows, which was just as easily dodged. Trigger was quickly closing the distance. He began to wonder why they hadn't changed to their melee weapons yet. He was soon in range when the berserkers stepped aside, revealing a ballista. The sniper behind it let the large bolt go, and it soared at an amazing speed. Trigger barely had time to move to his right to dodge. It easily tore through his shirt; and it left much more than a graze. It had cut pretty deep; but it hadn't even touched him. The simple speed of it cutting through the air had given him the wound; and it already hurt.

The berserkers proved that they weren't as dumb as they were thought out to be, as one was quickly in front of Trigger; axe in the air. Trigger brought his dagger upwards, its blade blocking the hilt of the axe. The other berserker had already moved in from behind and swung horizontally. Trigger didn't have enough time to dodge; so he pushed the berserker in front of him. The front one barely moved much; and Trigger felt the sharp metal slice across his back. The wound wasn't deep; but he could feel warm liquid trailing down his back.

The berserker behind him laughed a low, resounding laugh; and it sent a chill up Trigger's spine; despite the warmth it was currently receiving. Trigger fell to his knees and the berserker in front of him raised his axe above his head.

"The Mercenaries are so stupid for sending a child. Your life ends here, runt." The berserker said. He smirked, and brought his axe down. Trigger closed his eyes, waiting for death's embrace. He'd been too sure of himself; that he'd forgotten about the ballista.

"And you're too stupid for checking your blind spot." Ulki said, dashing in from behind the berserker. He was already out of laguz form; but that still didn't mean he could shove someone. The berserker, thrown off balance, nearly dropped his axe. The sniper, who had just finished reloading the ballista, fired a bolt at Ulki. The hawk quickly ascended; the bolt passing harmlessly under him. The berserker turned around and was about to slash at the hawk; but found a ballista arrow going through his stomach. The berserker gurgled, and blood came out from his mouth. He fell first to his knees, and then finally to his rest.

Blood splattered onto Trigger's face, and the horrors of his first battle came back to his mind. This was war; and if you weren't careful, you could die a death like that. Even at the hands of your own army.

This was the horrible, deadly truth of war.

**Chapter 27:**

"You okay?" Rhys said from behind, easily mending Trigger's wound. He felt his skin close and heal; but knew that there would be a very slight scar across his back. Trigger got up and nodded, then turned around. The other berserker was busy fighting off something he couldn't see; and he swiped at the air menacingly, spouting off curses. Trigger couldn't see what he was fighting at first, but soon he saw small traces of green. At least he had found his brother; and it was a good thing he was watching his back.

Muarim moved quicker than Trigger had ever seen; he could barely keep an eye traved on his movements. The berserker was much too slow; swinging at the empty space Muarim left behind after he'd already moved.

Trigger turned around as a cry alerted him to something. His attacker, a halberdier, came charging blindly into the fray. Rhys stepped to the side as Trigger met the halberdier head-on; catching the soldier off-guard. He took the man to the ground and punched him in the ribs hard; sending pain up his own arm. The soldier, breath taken out of him, tried to roll to his side. Trigger stabbed a dagger into the ground; no more than a few centimetres away from the man's head. If the soldier could roll any faster, he would have put himself in a very deep sleep.

The halberdier kicked upwards, sending Trigger off of him. His spear was too far for him to get without Trigger regaining composure; but he realised that Trigger's dagger was still jutted into the ground. He picked it out and quickly stood; the dagger in his right hand. Trigger got up, and instantly knew that the halberdier had taken his dagger. He pulled out his other one and held it forward in his left hand, nearly daring the soldier to attack.

The soldier ran forward, swiping so fast Trigger could barely see the blade. The halberdier had no obvious skill; but he was deadly quick. There was no time to block or counter; Trigger kept taking back steps to avoid the slashes. The soldier smiled; having Trigger on the defensive. He continued to stab and slash his way to Trigger, and easily got a few cuts on Trigger's arms. Trigger thought he found an opening and tried to make his way in. The soldier stabbed at Trigger's left shoulder. Trigger quickly dodged to the right and bolted forward; but the soldier retracted his arm and placed it in Trigger's right shoulder instead.

Trigger, pain now seething into his arm, couldn't move his right arm anymore. He passed his dagger from his left hand to his right; and took his left hand and pulled the dagger towards him, pushing it in a little further. The halberdier hadn't expected such a gruesome move; and let go of the dagger. Trigger quickly passed the dagger in his hands back again, and raised it high. He even leapt into the air, tackling the halberdier from above. He drove the dagger down, into the soldier's skull. The halberdier's eyes rolled back as blood began to slowly dribble down his face. Trigger panted, knowing that Rhys wouldn't be able to fix this wound as easily, and pulled the dagger out of his shoulder.

"Watch out!" Rhys called, and Trigger looked around. He spotted the sniper from before, aiming towards him; the last round of the ballista arrows already in place. He let it fire and Trigger knew that it was too fast. He knew there would be no chance of survival this time; no dodge could get him out of its way. Then, he felt something brush past him arm that sent a pain up. He gritted his teeth and soon a green blur jumped in front of him. Time seemed to slow, and he could see the green tiger that was his brother leap in front of him.

Trigger wanted to yell. He wanted to push Muarim out of the way. But he couldn't everything happened so fast. Even if time did seem to slow. He could only watch as the tiger's body was sprawled out in mid air, and then it crumpled as the ballista arrow pierced its stomach. It bent back a little at the force, and then it was flung back; tackling Trigger. They both fell to the ground, and Trigger rolled him off slowly. Horrified, he knelt beside his brother, his left hand trembling; as he didn't dare to touch him. The pain was gone; but something inside him burned.

His arms tingled, not with pain or numbness; but they just tingled. His body surged with energy, and he found his right hand somehow clenched into a fist. He looked once more at his brother, and tears started to flow freely from his eyes. He looked to the skies, and cried.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"


	7. Chapters 28 to 30

**Author's Note:** Well okay; I made a couple of friends read it and they told me to continue because they wanna see my theory on the Branded Mark. And that I left it at a suspenseful point.

**WARNING:** The following chapter set contains my take on the Branded Mark. If you do not like what I say; or you do not like anything different from the game; then do not read on. This is a **creative** piece of writing; which means that since I did not gain that much information on the mark, other than that it is a mark that appears in the later generations of a crossbred line, I am doing my own take. Once again; if you do not like speculation; **DO NOT READ ON!**

**Warnings Applicable:** Gore, Violence,

**Chapter 28:**

Rage consumed him once again. His arms tingled with fury; his right arm clenched in a tight fist. He felt no more pain other than loss; he felt no more emotions other than sadness and anger. He became feral; growling and roaring. He held his head between his hands, and roared loudly. Still barely able to speak; Trigger looked at the sniper that had fired the ballista. The sniper looked around frantically; his ballista rounds used up.

"M…Mu…Mua…Muar…RRGH!" Trigger said, before falling to his knees. He clenched his head even tighter in his hands, and continued his growling. It was low and rumbling; the sniper could tell it was full of anger.

Trigger's mark on his forehead began to glow. It caused him so much pain, and both of his hands went from his head to his forehead. He screamed out, a booming roar, and fell to his knees. The sniper was about to approach, then the seal appeared on the ground. It was 10 metres in diameter, and the sniper took a wary step back.

"W-what's going on here?" The sniper said. He looked at the seal with fear; nothing like this had ever been recorded before. What kind of creature was this child?

---

Meanwhile, Ike's small group had grown due to the reinforcements; and had made their way to the enemy leader. The Swordmaster smiled; and raised his blade. Ike began to run at the Swordmaster and sliced upwards. The Swordmaster easily dodged and began to slash; but found his hands empty. He looked out and saw Shinon; smiling. The Crimean sniper had shot an arrow so deadly, that it had hit the hilt and knocked the sword out of his hands. The Swordmaster looked back at Ike; who was already readying a second slash.

The Swordmaster rolled to his side, reaching for his blade. A hard thump came; and his hand was crushed by Mist. Riding on her newly acquired horse, she forced her steed to step on the Swordmaster's hand. The enemy leader cried out in pain, but didn't let go. He heard movement near him; and found a young mage with dark hair looking at him.

"Worthless." The mage spat, kicking the Swordmaster in the ribs. He laughed, an evil and taunting laugh, and then opened up a book of ElThunder. The Swordmaster looked in horror as the mage started to chant. The sky grew dark in an instant.

Clouds began to converge only where the Swordmaster lay. They circled above; like a flock of vultures awaiting their feed. Then, a brilliant light came from the clouds and fell upon the Swordmaster. He had died in an instant.

The small group was tired. They had fought their hardest to stay alive until the reinforcements came; then they fought even harder to reach the leader. Now that he was gone, they thought they could rest.

"Ike, look!" Mist said, pointing over to where Trigger said. The seal on the ground had now cracked the earth, and light came from the very depths it created. The lights went many metres into the sky; blocking out any sight of Trigger. They were a mixture of light purples and dark reds; where had this come from?

"What in the world…" Ike started, and then a powerful force shot out of the seal in all sides. It was like a great wind all around; pushing people backwards. Once Ike braced himself, he looked back again. A very dark and mysterious dome had appeared around the seal; and lightning began to surge through it. Ike turned to ask Soren what the hell was happening; but he then saw something he never usually saw on the mage.

**Chapter 29:**

Rhys stood outside of the dome, trembling. People in the close vicinity had stopped fighting; but the sounds of battle still echoed in the distance. Had not everyone seen this… this abomination? The priest looked at the dome uneasily; and he tottered backwards. He stepped on something that felt like mush and realised he stepped on a dead body. He would have screamed, if he were not still fixed upon the dome. Trigger was in the middle of it. What was going on here?

Though he could hear fighting behind him, something else was much louder. Much louder than and clang of metal upon metal. From inside the dome; he could hear Trigger scream in anguish.

---

Soren looked on in sheer terror. The symbol that had appeared on the ground; it was so similar to the one on his forehead. But it wasn't his. It was Trigger's. Did this mean that the child was a Branded as well? Did this mean that, this would happen to him eventually? He didn't want to be caught up in such strong magic; his very body quivered at the feeling of the energy around him. Something wasn't right about that dome; and about Trigger being in the middle of it.

Inside, his stomach churned and he thought he would throw up. But he forced himself not to. He had to watch. If indeed, Trigger was a Branded; he had to watch. In some odd way; it was concerning him as well. Just why did that magic circle appear; and what was it doing to Trigger?

---

Trigger felt his muscles twitch with anger and rage. His body began to hurt all over, and he roared out once again. The hairs on his body seemed to grow rapidly, and he felt his hands shrink. He looked at them and they became cat-like paws with claws; and the same happened to his feet. His nose and mouth became more prudent; and soon he had fangs. Though, his transformation left him still on two legs. He looked around, scared, and stepped around.

He didn't know what was happening; but he didn't really care. His body rattled with power; he brimmed with confidence. He looked around him and noticed the dome. He slimed, and leapt up high. He broke through the dome as if it were glass. It shattered into pieces as he leapt into the air; and the sun glared from out behind him.

---

The sniper looked up, at the abomination that had leapt out. It landed in front of him, and drool came off its teeth. It was like a beorc; it stood on two feet. Yet; that was the only beorc-like thing about the creature. It was covered in a black fur, and had definitely transformed. But why did he stand on two feet? He seemed defined as well; he had a chest and defined abs; no laguz resembled this much to a beorc when transformed.

The creature's paws seemed to have stopped halfway through transformation. It had paws nonetheless; but it also seemed to have very short, stubby fingers. From the fingers was what worried the sniper, though. Long, protruding claws came out from the hand. They reflected the light ominously, and he looked back to the creature's face.

The face seemed to be the only part that was fully transformed. It had a definite head of a tiger; and its mouth curled up in a very evil smile. The sniper took an arrow and aimed it at the beast; but his hands shook. The beast looked at him and smiled. This caused further fear to enter his mind, and he let the arrow go. It flew through the air and hit the tiger in the leg, but the beast did not fall.

---

« Pain... He didn't feel it. The arrow in his leg should have crippled him; but there he stood. Was this… was this Trigger? » Rhys thought. Trigger now stood far in front of his fallen brother; could he approach and tend to Muarim's wounds? Or would Trigger not like him getting near?

Then, he saw something that defied all odds. Muarim twitched. He was alive! Rhys was about to call out to Trigger; but then stopped. Would he even care? He had been so consumed by his rage; would it matter? The feral instincts inside the young boy had taken over. Rhys wanted to tell him; but he knew Trigger wouldn't even look back. There was too much anger that directed him towards that sniper.

**Chapter 30:**

The sniper looked in fear. The arrow hit; but the monster didn't seem to care. He raised another arrow and fired it; but this time the tiger moved. He ran so swiftly on two feet; the sniper barely had time to look at where the tiger was going to attack. He barely dodged a vertical swipe meant for his face; but as he stepped to the side the tiger quickly slashed horizontally. The sniper felt pain rush into his stomach; and a warm liquid oozed down his front. Three marks slashed across his stomach, and he fell back.

---

This was it. It was time. Trigger knew that it wouldn't bring his brother back; but at least this idiot would be put out of his misery. There was no room for forgiveness now. He looked down upon the sniper, and sneered. He slashed the sniper across his face, and enjoyed the fact that the man screamed at the top of his lungs. He fed on the fear, on the way the man reacted. He kneed the beorc in the face, and smiled. The cracking of the man's jaw was music to his ears.

The sniper, who was on the ground, didn't move. Was it over already? He had just started to enjoy his plaything. He picked the sniper up by the neck and moved his snout close to his ear. The sniper opened his eyes and gazed into the deep, black pupils of Trigger. Trigger smiled, and then bit off the man's ear. Shock first entered the man's mind; and he screamed again. Trigger licked the blood that made its little course down his face.

"Please… Let me live…" The man pleaded. Trigger felt a surge of happiness go through him. The more the sniper begged, the more he felt good. He never wanted to stop; he wanted the man to beg some more. He wanted the man to scream out his name in pain. He went to the other ear, and felt the man's heavy breathing. The man expected him to now cause him pain; and Trigger wasn't going to disappoint. He took his claw and clawed the opposite side of the man's face.

"Let you live?" Trigger said. His voice was hoarse and crude; a mix of growling and speech. "You didn't let Muarim live! This won't bring him back; but now you'll feel the cruelty of war!" Trigger said. He dug his claw into the man's face, and the man looked at him once again. His eyelids shot open and closed slowly, and he was barely alive.

"Please… just end this…" The man said. Trigger smiled.

"My pleasure." He said. He opened his jaw and bit at the man's jugular. The sniper let out a gurgle, and fell to the ground. Trigger licked his lips and swallowed the blood. He liked the taste; not sweet but not bitter. He stood up and sighed. It was finished.


	8. Chapters 31 to 34

**Author's Notes:** I'm so sorry these chapters took forever! I've been busy with craploads of projects; and add to that Maple Story (which has just consumed me) and Dragon Quest VIII (Which is getting more and more time), and also the fact that I'm writing other fanfics as I write this one; and I barely have any time left! I'm so sorry for all those who waited!

**Warnings available during these chapters:** Gore

**Chapter 31:**

Rhys had steadily crept over to Muarim on the ground. His eye was always steadily looking at Trigger; who didn't seem to notice the Priest yet. He looked down at Muarim's wound and frowned. The bolt had gone right through the laguz; but somehow it didn't appear to his any organs; which was amazing; because there was very little room for it to do so. He knelt beside Muarim and took the Mend staff that he used to heal wounds of this level of damage. He began to wave it over the laguz; but found that it was doing nothing. He then looked back at the giant bolt fired from the ballista.

"Of course! The wound won't close when there's something in it!" Rhys exclaimed. Perhaps a little too loudly. Trigger immediately whirled around and glared at the Priest; with the exact same anger that he showed towards the sniper. "N-now… calm down there… T-Trigger…" Rhys stuttered, his palm out. Trigger closed the distance with a single leap into the air and now Rhys could smell the sniper's blood on him.

Trigger looked at Rhys, then at Muarim, then back to the Priest. During this time, Rhys had switched the Mend staff in his hand for one that they had just recently acquired. It looked exactly the same; except for one difference; the crystal at the tip of the staff wasn't blue like the Mend staff; but a red. Trigger eyed it suspiciously, and growled.

---

"Ike, the Daein forces have all retreated…" Soren said. His voice didn't have its usual cool, to-the-point intonation. It seemed to waver as he spoke. "Ike?" Soren asked. The commander didn't look back at his mage; but simply nodded.

"We have to get Rhys out of there. We also need to incapacitate Trigger." Ike said. Soren nodded. "If we get too close; Trigger will hear us. We need a way to get there, quick and silently." Ike said. Soren pondered for a moment; but his thoughts were only filled with one thing.

« Am I going to become like that too? »

"Maybe we can get one of the hawks to carry us in the air; though they'll only be able to carry the lightest people and only two at a time-" Soren started.

"It's too late! He's making a move!" Mia said. Trigger began to growl louder at Rhys; who was still on the ground in fear. Before he knew it; Ike started in a sprint towards the Priest and the abomination that was Trigger.

---

Rhys held his staff out as Trigger began to move for the Priest. Trigger stopped at the staff that was pointed out at his face, and bent to sniff it. Rhys yelled something inaudible; and the staff's tip began to glow. Trigger looked deep into the ruby light that was emitted from the staff; and soon stepped backwards. He began to move groggily, and clawed at the air lethargically. Rhys began to pant as Trigger opened his eyes again and looked at him. Had the staff not had any effect on Trigger? He raised his staff again to let out another blast of magic; but then Trigger doubled over into a deep sleep. Ike and the other Mercenaries arrived soon after.

"Sleep staff…" Rhys said now coughing. Mia bent near him and helped him up; his arm slung around her shoulder. "Ike, could you please get some other people to help you get Muarim back to the tent. Leave Mordecai there too. Mist, get your medical supplies ready; we'll need to close the wound before we can do any serious healing." Rhys said. Ike understood immediately and began shouting orders.

"Trigger?" Ike said, once Muarim was beginning to be carefully lifted up by his arms and legs by the two hawks; Ulki and Janaff. They flew slowly, yet steadily back to the camp. Mist followed them on her steed; going to ready everything needed.

"I hit him with a strong dosage of the magic; he should be out for a day or two." Rhys said. He stood straight without Mia's help, and began to walk back to begin to tend to Muarim. He passed Soren, who merely stared at the dormant Trigger.

"You… you don't know what happened… do you?" Soren asked. Rhys shrugged. "I'll go see if there's anything in our documents; or my books." Soren said. He left briskly; and Rhys thought he could hear Soren talking to himself.

"Ike… today didn't go as planned; but we can't turn back because of a couple of events, can we?" Mia asked. Ike looked at her solemnly, but didn't say a word. "I know already; we can't turn back; but going forward is going to be harder. Don't worry; you can count on me." Mia said; trying to smile. It came out forced and wrong; and she merely placed a hand on Ike's shoulder then went back to camp. Ike looked to the battleground; littered with bodies of soldiers. A few soldiers were clad in Crimean and Begnion armour; but the battlefield was mostly red with armour and blood.

"I can't regret letting him join us… but we'll have to take more care of what we do with him." Ike said to himself; while staring at a circle burnt into the ground. He stared at the spot where the dome that had encircled Trigger had made its mark, then walked back to camp.

**Chapter 32:**

"Mordecai, if you please?" Rhys said, motioning the large laguz to Muarim. They had laid him on a table inside Rhys' tent. Muarim now breathed in a sporadic tempo; his forehead covered in sweat and his fever rising. Mordecai stepped over and took a deep breath; then placed one hand on Muarim's chest. The other gripped the giant bolt from the ballista tightly.

"Remember not to pull it out too fast please; or this will make things more complicated." Rhys said. Mordecai nodded; knowing that the removal of a weapon could easily do more damage than its entrance; and pulled. The bolt came out steadily, along with massive amounts of copious blood. Mist, who was watching, turned to the side and nearly vomited. The bolt came out; the viscous red liquid seeping down its sides. Mordecai threw it to the ground and nodded. Rhys moved so he could leave.

"Mist, if you want you can leave. All I needed were your supplies." Rhys said. Mist looked back at Rhys with a determined look, and shook her head. "All right then." Rhys said. He placed a cloth under Muarim where the bolt had protruded. Hopefully, his body weight would be enough to stop the flow of blood from that side. "Mist, apply pressure and try to get the area near the entryway dried up; it'll be easier for me to close the wound that way." Rhys said. Mist came over with a clean cloth and began to wipe the wound; the whole time shivering. "Let's get started." Rhys said.

---

Trigger slept all alone in his tent. They had brought him back still transformed; though he reverted back to his human form sometime after. Rolf had moved his things from the tent casually; to avoid any suspicion; and moved to Boyd and Oscar's tent. Trigger's tent was now empty, save his few things and the bed he was laid on.

Inside his dream, everything was beginning to replay. He could see his transformation; he could feel his anger all over again. But this time, even if he told himself to not do something it continued on as if to mock him. He could see the way he tortured the sniper and he could taste the blood on his mouth. He then saw himself approaching Rhys; who was on the ground. He could feel his body prepare to attack, but then he sat up screaming. He knew people would have heard him; but no one came to check on him. No one wanted to associate with him anymore. He was all alone all over again.

---

Soren flipped through his books vehemently. "No, no, no!" He said as he flipped through every book at his disposal. Nothing could explain the horrendous acts that had happened earlier; nothing could tell him what happened. He slumped down in the pile of books and shivered. He knew that symbol on the ground was a symbol like his; but not identical. The symbol of the Branded had been shown in clear daylight; but now it seemed that being a Branded would only make things worse.

"Does being a Branded mean you transform into… into…" Soren said. "NO! I won't let that happen to me!" He yelled furiously, kicking up his books. He panted heavily and began to take random books into his hands and throw them furiously around his tent; but soon one caught his eye. On the cover was an arcane symbol but no title. He could read the book; but he never understood its mundane use of words and its awkward pictures. Now, he flipped through it vigorously, and stopped somewhere past halfway in the book. "This… this is it… This explains it all. I have to show Ike!" He said. He ran out of his tent; leaving his giant mess on the ground.

**Chapter 33:**

"Okay Mist. You can look now." Rhys said. Mist had been doing everything that Rhys had said; but had just started to look away once Rhys began to sew the wound. The cleric slowly opened her eyes and saw that the wound had been sealed as best as it could with the limited supplies, and instantly knew what was next. She took out her Heal staff, seeing Rhys had already taken out his Mend staff. He nodded to her, and they both placed the tip of their wands near the wound. Closing their eyes, the tent began to glow a mix of blue and green; the colours of their wands.

Muarim's wound began to close normally; as if it had never been there before. A large scar was left, thought their work wasn't done. Mist sighed, looking at the closed wound. "Alright Rhys, let's get started on the other side." Mist said. Rhys nodded and sighed in exasperation. "Mordy, could you please turn him over?" Mist asked. Mordecai nodded, and heaved the laguz over. As Rhys began to sew the wound closed again, Mist looked back to somewhere else. A scream echoed through the night; a scream she wished she never heard

She looked out the flap of their tent and noticed that the scream came from Trigger's tent. "He's awake." Mist said. Rhys looked up for a split second and knew what she meant almost instantly. She was afraid; they all were. But he knew that they couldn't just shun him; it wasn't his fault. He turned back to his sewing and continued his ministrations.

"Mordecai, could you please tell him to stay in his tent and that we will call him once we're done tending to his brother?" Rhys asked. Mordecai opened his mouth to say something back; but Rhys' look told him not to. The laguz nodded and went outside of the tent. His strength wasn't needed anymore inside that tent anyway. "Alright Mist. The wounds are both closed. Let's heal this one properly; then begin on healing his internal damage." Rhys said.

---

Trigger sat up on his bed, only now realising that it was empty. "Rolf…" He said, looking around. He wasn't groggy as when he usually woke up; but he was still confused. Rolf left because... "Of what I've become. He's gone because he's scared." Trigger said aloud.

"Who is?" Mordecai said from outside the tent. He entered without waiting and saw that Trigger looked at him in shock. "I hope you're not talking about me. I'm not scared." Mordecai said. He smiled; and Trigger felt that smile was genuine. Though, something inside him told him not to.

« People have only deceived you before, what's to stop him? He saw you; he should be scared! » Trigger thought in his mind. "Why aren't you scared? You saw what happened. I… became a monster." Trigger said. He looked to the ground in dismay and a tear began to run down his cheeks. He stopped himself from crying fully; but that didn't stop the tears from coming; or the sobs from leaking out of the corners of his mouth.

"Child, fear and confusion are too different to compare. I am not afraid; but confused. I do not know what happened; but I want to." Mordecai said. Trigger looked up at him. Of all the people to come to him, the wisest one came first. Mordecai smiled and held out a hand to Trigger. Trigger took it and stood up. "I think they're finished tending to your brother." Mordecai said. Trigger's eyes widened; as if he had just remembered something extremely important.

"Muarim!" Trigger said, running out of his tent at full speed. It didn't matter to him if people stared; he only wanted to make sure his brother was okay.

**Chapter 34:**

"So you mean that Branded can still transform?" Ike said. Soren had come running into his tent rather quickly and in a haste; but the tactician had promised that the information he had found what just what they were looking for.

"Apparently so. The Branded are like sub-humans.; they have the power to transform into their animal-like state. However, the Branded are still half-beorc. They have lived their whole lives in their human form; so walking on four legs would be difficult. This is also why they cannot be controlled; the increase in power is too much for them. They live their lives the way a beorc would; and learn things that only beorcs do. Becoming a sub-human is just too difficult for them." Soren said. He took a deep breath, and sighed.

"This explains the dome? Or the symbol on the ground?" Ike asked. Soren flipped to another page.

"This page here says it all. The symbol that a Branded would sport would act like a seal. The symbol, created by the fusion of beorc and laguz blood, is meant to keep the sub-human side dormant. But when a Branded goes through extreme emotional duress the sub-human side can awaken. Then, the host body will transform into those monsters." Soren said, matter-of-factly. Ike wondered how the sage could have learnt so much in the small time it took him to run from his tent to this one.

"And the dome?" Ike asked.

"It's supposed to appear when they're transforming. It's kind of weird really. It's meant to warn you to back off; but it also tells you that something wrong with that person. Also, it is a clear indicator that person is Branded." Soren said.

"Does it say how long it will take to revert back to their beorc form? Trigger reverted as much as we know; but no one was watching so we can't tell." Ike said. Soren smiled. "Let me guess. You've been waiting to tell me?" Ike asked. Soren let out a small 'heh' and turned his book to one of the first pages. There, a large diagram with a person's body and arrows circulating through it was shown. He gave the book to Ike.

"This is the flow of energy through your body. Without energy, we obviously cannot move. However, the energy is constantly being drained and replaced. When a Branded transforms, it uses up a drastic amount of this energy. Afterwards, energy is replaced either slowly or none at all. Thus, the host body will revert once all of their energy is used up. It's quite a simple concept really. Though there is one problem; when Rhys put Trigger to sleep I'm guessing that he was able to replace this energy faster; since he was resting. So it took him longer to revert back." Soren said. Ike looked at it and frowned.

"That's a problem now. If this happens again, we'll be stuck. We'll have to wait until Trigger spends all of his energy in his rampage and reverts back; or we could incapacitate him but prolong the transformation." Ike said. He looked at Soren, who just sat there in consternation. "Something wrong?" Ike asked.

"If this happens again… who says it will be Trigger?" Soren mumbled. Ike pretended he didn't hear that, and closed the book firmly. The thud of it closing brought Soren back, and the tactician looked back at Ike. "That's all the information I could draw from that text. The language is easy to read but it's hard to comprehend." Soren said. Ike nodded. Then, he remembered his first conversation with Trigger.

"Does that book say anything about aging?" Ike asked. Soren looked at him oddly. Ike didn't want to explain, but the mage wouldn't understand if he didn't. "Trigger looks to be about 18... right?" He said. Soren nodded. "But... he was there at the Serenes Massacre." Ike said. Soren took the book.

"That's impossible. The Serenes Massacre was over 20 years ago. He should be well over 18 by now." Soren said, looking through the book. He didn't expect to find anything, but looked anyway; mostly to humor Ike.

"I know. But I believe him. There's nothing?" Ike said, frowning. Soren shook his head, until he suddenly stopped. "Soren?" Ike asked.

"I... I can't believe it..." Soren said. Ike looked at Soren, then down to the book. Another diagram of the human body was shown, this time with circles at certain points of the body. They seemed to ripple; growing steadily outwards. "This..." Soren started.

"Soren." Ike said. The mage looked up at him. "What does it say?" Ike said, his tone serious.

"Ike..." Soren started, thoughts racing through his mind. He pushed them all to the side, and focused on the situation at hand. "Each of these ripples are growing points; where a person would grow and it would most likely be noticeable. The legs, the arms, the neck; right?" Soren asked. Ike nodded. "But this says that during transformation... Growth stops. Time Stops. It's as if aging stops as is for the transformee." Soren said.

"What?" Ike asked, not believing. Soren nodded, not having to say anymore. The two sat in silence, until Ike nodded. "So Trigger transformed through anger seeing the forests burning. He stays transformed for... how many years... and untransforms; the memory still present in his mind." Ike started. Soren quickly understood.

"He goes back to Begnion thinking the massacre just happened. He goes to try and bridge relations, to try and stop things; but all he does is bring back unwanted memories. That's why he's not listened to. He goes back to the forest, not knowing what happened." Soren added. Ike pondered a little.

"But how old was Trigger when that happened?" Ike wondered. Soren shrugged. "I... I'll have to ask him." Ike decided. He hadn't even thought of Trigger's age since he'd first talked to him, but now the child was becoming more and more intriguing.

"That'll be quite enough. Thank you." He said. He handed the book back to Soren, who got up. Soren bowed and exited the tent; but stopped just as he exited. "Soren?" Ike asked, seeing the tactician had stopped.

"Trigger just ran by." Soren said. Ike got up immediately and looked out of his tent; just when Mordecai ran up.

"I told him his brother was alive. He ran." Mordecai said. The three looked on as Trigger dashed into the healer's tent.


	9. Chapters 35 to 37

**Author's Note**: Once again, more delays. Whoop dee doo. Mostly out of laziness this time. Though, I did have writer's block for a while and then got my idea, but had no time to write it out so I forgot it again . And I also have about 3 projects to do in the span of two weeks, and I'm only halfway done two of them. The story is gonna get kind of angsty too.

**Spoilers in the next set of chapters:** Chapter 22: Solo. The one with the priests and stuff.

**Chapter 35:**

"Muarim?" Trigger said, out of breath. His brother lay on a bed; his hand slumped over his stomach. He breathed raggedly; but at least he was breathing. Trigger let out a sigh of relief. He noticed movement to his right and looked there; to see Rhys with a staff held up. His other hand was in the way of Mist, who trembled with fear. "Guys… I'm okay now…" Trigger said, taking a step forward to them. They responded by shuffling back further, and he knew it was of no use.

He headed towards his brother and knelt by him, and took something from his pocket. He pulled out a small emerald pendant and placed it in Muarim's hand. Just holding it seemed to calm Muarim down, and soon his breathing became steady. He stood up and turned to look at the two healers, when they flinched in response. He sighed, and was about to take a step to leave the tent.

"Why leave so soon?" Mordecai asked. Trigger didn't notice that the laguz had entered the tent, and he also noted that he was followed by Ike and Soren. "You not happy to see brother alive?"

"Of course I'm happy!" Trigger said. Mordecai waited expectantly. « Everyone is happy to see him alive. But no one is happy that I'm alive. » Trigger thought. Mordecai looked at him quizzically, wondering what the youngster was thinking of.

"Rhys," Ike said, to break the tension. "How long until Muarim wakes up?" Ike continued. The priest was still focused upon Trigger, and he didn't hear the question; or at least he didn't answer it. "Rhys?" Ike said, in a louder tone.

"Oh! Uh… i-i-it will be… I-I think…" Rhys stammered. Trigger shook his head; knowing that it was his fault the priest was so unsettled. Tears began to well in his eyes, and then he dashed past Mordecai out of the tent. Soren shook his head with a smile on his face, and chuckled lowly. Mist stepped out from behind Rhys.

"What's so funny?" She asked, angrily. Everyone, caught back by her sudden forwardness, stood quietly. "Yes, Trigger is scary; but he's only caring for his family! What if I transformed because Ike was dying, would you all treat me the same way?" She said. Rhys hung his head in shame and Soren looked out of the tent. "We're all horrible people, and I wished I had realised this sooner." She said. She ran out of the tent to follow Trigger.

---

Trigger sat along the banks of a river in the forest edges of their encampment. He lazily lobbed stones into the water randomly, sighing and thinking.

"It's because of me that people are so uneasy… and they're not concentrated. There's no way we can win the war like this…" He mumbled. He then threw a stone angrily, and a loud sploosh of water ensued. Through the noise, he didn't hear Mist run up, panting, until the water had stilled.

"Trigger… I… I'm sorry!" She mustered through her breaths. Trigger stood up, back still turned to her. "Trigger, I realised that-"

"Don't bother." Trigger interrupted. Mist held her breath, as suddenly the once docile voice became angry. Was he going to transform again? Mist didn't know, and having no way to defend herself she stood frozen in fear. "You're all the same. You know that? Everyone single one of you is afraid of power, afraid of outer looks; when you can't see past them!" Trigger turned around angrily, and he saw Mist take a step back. He was about to say something else, then he stormed off towards his tent. Mist stood there, wondering what had caused him to say that.

By morning, no one could see any sign of Trigger.

**Chapter 36:**

Trigger looked at the sky. How long had he been walking? He couldn't tell anymore...

He didn't even remember why he left.

He could only recall anger and sadness. Everyone was happy that Muarim would live; but looks told him that they wanted him dead. He never wanted people to be angry by his existence. So, he took the easiest way out; to make everyone happy.

He left.

Without a word, without saying anything. No note was left, and nothing remained in the empty tent. Oscar had even convinced Rolf to go and say sorry and move back in. Rolf was the first to know that Trigger had gone. He had come back yelling.

But through all the commotion, people didn't care. To them, a threat had been eliminated. A handful of people; Mist, Oscar, Ike, and Mia were the only ones to worry. Then, Muarim woke up.

No one knows how. In fact, by all physical means, he should have still been asleep. However; his body had fully healed, he called a small meeting with the four people who were worried... his first concern was the whereabouts of...

"Trigger. Where is he?" Muarim asked. Ike shook his head, and Mist looked away. "Is he alright?" Muarim continued.

"We don't know. He's not here anymore..." Mia said, looking away.

"Oh... if I hadn't been so mean to him... he wouldn't have left! I'm so sorry!" Rolf said, tearing.

"Shh..." Mist said, hugging Rolf. "We were all mean... we were all hateful... it's not just your fault." She added.

Muarim looked fretful. "So he's left? Just like that? Without leaving anything?" He asked. Everyone shook their head.

"The only left is that pendant." Mia said, pointing at what Muarim carried around. Muarim looked at it; and only realised it then. Carrying it had been a sort of reflex; and he just now found it to not belong. "Trigger put that with you when you were healing. I can't say for sure... but it looks like that made the process faster. Do you have any idea what that is?" Mia asked.

Muarim shook his head, his gaze not being averted from the pendant. "No, I don't. But I plan on asking Trigger once I catch up with him." He replied. Ike stood up.

"You're not seriously leaving too, are you? We're moving into enemy lines! We need you here!" Ike said.

"I know that!" Muarim retorted. Both he and Ike were caught off guard, and he took a deep breath. "I know I'm needed here... but I'm also needed elsewhere. You can't expect me to choose!" Muarim said. Ike sat down, pondering the situation.

"Sir Ike!" A scout called from outside.

"Enter." Ike replied.

"We have found a church! It has been reported that shady characters are being sighted around there! Do you think the Daein are taking refuge inside the church?" The scout asked.

"I'll go with a group to investigate. Thank you." Ike replied. The scout nodded, and left; but he stopped.

"Oh sir, it's also reported rabid Laguz have been seen around the area. You should be careful!" The scout said. Ike looked at the scout oddly, then let him go.

"Rabid Laguz? You don't think... Trigger?" Mia wondered.

"It's a possibility. We should check this out." Oscar replied.

"I'm going then." Muarim added. Everyone turned at him. "Don't be so surprised if it is Trigger then we already know what to expect. If not, then we have a faint idea." Muarim replied. "And I'm... worried about him."

Ike smiled.

**Chapter 37:**

Ike and the small group; consisting of Rhys, Muarim, Mia, Boyd, Titania, Soren, and Volke; arrived at the chapel early. Ike looked over to see Muarim trying to scope out for Trigger; but the dejected look on the laguz' face told him that there was no sight of the young boy.

Then, he heard footsteps coming from within the chapel. Ike looked over, to see a man walk up to him. The man wasn't a priest; in fact he was the complete opposite. The man looked poor; his clothes were beaten and weathered, though the man did sport an axe on his back. A mercenary perhaps? Or...

"Who are you? This place isn't safe; you should leave soon if you value your lives." The man said.

"There's been reports of suspicious activities around here. Know anything about that?" Ike asked. The man shook his head.

"Have you seen any rabid laguz around here?" Muarim asked aftwards, sounding a little desperate. The man's face turned to shock, but after a moment the man shook his head again. Muarim found this just a little odd... just a little.

"Nope, no one's around here except me and a few priests-" The man started. All of a sudden, one of the back doors burst open, and a priest ran out.

"Leave me alone! Someone help! Bandits inside the chapel!" The priest yelled. He was soon grabbed by a more menacing man, who stared over at the entrance. His face showed horror; as if he had been caught.

"Our cover's blown, boys! Let's get 'em!" The bandit leader said. Bandits filed out from every direction possible; but that wasn't all. Each bandit had his own captive; either a priest or a bishop. Muarim growled at the sight.

"I knew something was up. Human captives. And when I mentioned laguz... there must be a few feral ones here as well." Muarim said, growling at the thought. He removed his head band from his pocket, and began to slip it on. He nodded to Ike before he transformed; and as soon as he had transformed into his Tiger form; the Mercenaries moved into position.

---

Trigger wandered back towards the Begnion borders. Becoming a little tired, he noticed a small village not too far from the border. Deciding that would be a plausible place to rest, he headed over; but found something else that awaited him. A line of people filed towards the centre of the village. Wondering what was up, Trigger headed towards the center.

As he walked, shouts began to fill his ears.

"Heal my son!"

"Offer me wisdom!"

"Do you do exorcisms?"

These cries, and many more with similar meanings became mixed in the further he went in. He walked right past the line; and people didn't seem to notice. He got to the centre of the village; a large fountain with the Goddess Ashera, and found a priest sitting there; on the edge of the fountain.

"What's the problem, young one?" The priest asked, to a crying little girl.

"Mo...mo... she's... she's... sick!" The girl said, sniffling. She held up a very fat cat, and the priest smiled.

"She's not sick. In fact; she's ready for life!" The priest said. The girl looked at him oddly, and he smiled; rubbing his fingers over her face to wipe away her tears. "She's going to have a baby. Soon; so be ready." The priest said. The girls' eyes lit up, then she ran home; the pregnant cat dangling in her arms.

Trigger could see that the priest was very young; and had blond hair. He resembled Rhys in a way; with the hairstyle; but his face was very different. He had green eyes and an aura of friendliness about him. His smile was warm and gentle; and he was smiling at him. The priest chuckled, and this caused everyone in the line to look over.

"Get in line!" Someone yelled.

"Wait your turn!" Another added.

Trigger blushed and took a step back; but found a hand on his shoulder. He looked behind him, to see that the priest stood there.

"Now, now... I will be happy to help you all. However, I cannot refuse a friend! If you'll excuse me, we have much catching up to do." The priest replied. He led Trigger off and people nodded, then went back to their daily work.

"Do I know you?" Trigger asked, once they were out of earshot.

"Child, I know all. The Goddess guides me to those who need help; and guides those who need help to me." The priest said. The priest was very young; but to Trigger he was also very enlightened.

"How did you know that I was in need of help?" Trigger asked. The priest smiled. They sat down on a bench on the edge of the square.

"Your face." The priest replied. Trigger looked at him quizzically. "But before that, what is your name? I, am Peth'Mael Dannar, of the Dannar Order."

"Trigger." He replied, gulping. The priest smiled. "What did you mean my face?" Trigger asked.

"Your face can tell people many things; how much sadness you've endured, how much anger you hold, or how much joy you are feeling. Your face is a mix of all these, and many more. I could tell that in your confusion, you needed guidance. Now, tell me, what can I do for you?" Peth'Mael asked.

"What about those people in the line?" Trigger wondered, almost ignoring the priest's question. "They waited for so long..."

"And yet they have nothing to ask. Their matters are far less important that yours. Their daily trifles are nothing, compared to a life lived in suffering." The priest said. Trigger looked at him, and tears began to well in his eyes. "You know, tears are your emotions coming into physical form. It's alright for you to shed a tear... especially when your face tells me your whole life was full of them." Peth'Mael added.

"I... One more question. Okay?" Trigger asked. Peth'Mael nodded. "Do you know about what I am?" Trigger inquired.

"How you are a Branded child? Yes. Did your hair hide it? Yes; but I have helped so many different kinds of people I can tell them apart." Peth'Mael replied. Trigger smiled. "No, I don't care that you're Branded. I'll help you." 

"Then you have to listen... and listen well. The story is quite a long one." Trigger replied. Peth'Mael chuckled.

"Do not worry child, I have all the time in the world." The priest replied, smiling.


	10. Chapters 38 to 40

**Author's Note: **Yeah. Writing has been slow and tiring, along with a combination of depressing life, horrible events, and even worse outcomes; I had thought I would have to abandon this. But this is all that keeps me going for now; so I have decided to continue this. Sorry for the delays.

It's almost near the end, too. Which I have 2 endings. I'll post them once I finish them.

**Chapter 38:**

"Has there ever been a time where you think you finally belong?" Trigger asked. Peth'Mael sat silently, listening. "My life had been horrible; I looted, I vowed revenge, I even resorted to violence. But when I met them..." Trigger said, trailing off.

"Them? Them who?" Peth'Mael asked. Trigger looked around warily. Though he was close to the Begnion borders, they were still in Daein territory. He knew in his mind that the villagers didn't want to fight; but in the enemy's territory one could never know.

"A group of mercenaries. One that... I found shared my ideals. They wanted acceptance, and they tried to hard to work at it. I even found the person... the person I had looked for all my life." Trigger said. He stared at the ground sadly, feeling water race down his cheek. Peth'Mael smiled and wiped away the tears.

"If everything was so good, why did you leave?" Peth'Mael asked. Trigger looked at the priest, and shook his head. More tears flooded, and soon there was a stream going down his face.

"Because... I did things... that I didn't want to do. I killed.. out of... of... happiness." Trigger mustered. The priest didn't look shocked, but interested. Trigger wondered why the priest wasn't scared, he just confided that killing had made him happy.

"Sometimes, we do things when our emotions go out of control. Others, we need those emotions or else we do nothing..." Peth'Mael started. Trigger stood up angrily, and shook his head more.

"You don't understand! That wasn't even me!" He yelled, through tears of anger. "I... I became a monster! All because..." He said, trailing off. Peth'Mael looked at the boy sadly, and Trigger sat down again. "Because... that one person got hurt. To the extent that they didn't have a chance at survival."

"Now I'm a little lost. You transformed because of emotions?" Peth'Mael asked. Trigger nodded, sniffling. He wiped his eyes and face dry, but still felt the heavy sadness inside, as he remembered all that had happened.

"I transformed. Into a laguz. Which should have never of happened. I transformed, Peth. I became an abomination..." Trigger started. He felt tears well up again, until he felt a hard slap across his face. He looked at the priest shocked. Peth'Mael only stared back in anger.

"So a gift from Ashera, nay, a gift from Fate itself is a curse? An abomination? When you first came I thought you were mature and smart, but how naive are you? Life has its ups and downs, and sometimes we might get a little lost. Sometimes, it might seem that life doesn't want us to exist anymore, and it's always trying to get in our way. But if we give up, then we give up on ourselves, and we give up on life. The traits we all have, we should neither fear, nor hate them; but accept them." Peth'Mael said. He looked away, and rubbed his palm with his other hand. "I'm sorry for hitting you..." He started, but Trigger smiled.

"No, that's okay. Really." He replied. He sniffled again and tears fell down his face, but he was smiling; almost _laughing_. "You're right. You're so right... and it seems that I always have to learn the lessons of life the harshest ways. But you're right." Trigger said. Peth'Mael smiled.

"Sometimes, the harshest lessons are the ones best remembered." Peth'Mael replied. Trigger let out a chuckle, remembering his first true battle with the Mercenaries. He was about to open his mouth, when someone came running down the hill.

"Father! I'm sorry to interrupt!" The townsperson said. Peth'Mael shook his head, and looked at the man willingly.

"What's wrong?" Peth'Mael asked.

"It seems there is commotion at a church! From what has passed to here, priests are being held hostage! You should get out of here, or else they might get you too!" The townsperson said. Peth'Mael nodded.

"I understand. Thank you." The young priest replied. The townsperson nodded, and ran off. Peth'Mael began to walk away.

"Wait! I want to thank you!" Trigger said, running after the priest. Peth'Mael turned around, and smiled.

"Save the thanks for later. Right now, we should be heading to save some priests." Peth'Mael replied. Trigger looked at him oddly.

"I want to help too, but the church, which one is it? And if it's too far, what if we're too late?" Trigger said. Peth'Mael smiled.

"There are always ways to get to the places you need to get to. When is not the matter of importance; it is only a positive of negative factor. What matters is that you get there." Peth'Mael said. Trigger looked at the priest, lost. "Of course, I'd rather the positive factors, over the negative ones. Wouldn't you agree?" Peth'Mael said. Trigger still looked at him oddly.

"So you have a plan?" Trigger said. Peth'Mael shook his head.

"All I have, is hope. However, all I need is hope." The priest said. Trigger smiled, finally understanding. "Let's go."

**Chapter 39:**

The bandits were smart. Or at least, they were evasive. Now the Mercenaries were faced with a problem; just the two dozen priests trembling in fear and yet being able to bar their way.

"Move for them, and we'll kill the rest of ya!" The bandit leader said. The priests shook in fear, staves at the ready. Few of them were actually prepared with anything less than a heal staff; though it was evident they were better stocked the further back they were.

"We can't kill any of the priests! Knock em out or disable em; but don't do anything too harsh! Remember, these are not men of battle; but men of grace!" Ike said. The few mercenaries with him nodded. "Greil Mercenaries! Move out!"

---

"Where are we going?" Trigger asked. Peth'Mael hushed him. He brought him to a deserted chapel, which was starting to break down. "Peth... I doubt this is the one they're attacking." Trigger said solemnly.

"Ah, but there is much to be seen other than the decaying walls, my young Branded friend." Peth'Mael said. Trigger smiled; the priest called him friend regularly and yet they had just met that day. It was an odd feeling; as if Peth'Mael understood everything about Trigger.

They entered the rundown chapel and Trigger looked around. Crushed pews littered the floor as Peth'Mael headed to the altar. None of the candles burnt, most of the windows were shattered, and it smelled of death. Peth'Mael exclaimed out in joy as he apparently found what he was looking for.

"What's this?" Trigger asked. Peth'Mael smiled, showing him a translucent gray stone. It was somewhat see through and had still a shine like glass; but Trigger saw his own reflection in it. Gazing deeper, it seemed to have smoke inside of it.

"I once met a man who used stones like these to teleport to places. I asked him for a few." Peth'Mael said. Trigger looked at him oddly. "It was some time ago; though I can remember everything clearly. His wife's name was Aurora, and they had two children. In fact, his wife was an angel. Interesting story, isn't it?" Peth'Mael said. His face beamed, reminiscing about old times. "However, I should tell you later; the only important thing is that this can teleport us to the chapels around Daein." Peth'Mael said.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Trigger said. He looked at the stone more intently.

"Now, what was it he said?" Peth'Mael began to think aloud. "Chaos Distortion: Time Warp!" He said aloud. It was almost spontaneous; as if he didn't even say it himself. Trigger looked around him, as time began to be warped. Everything spiraled and bent, and soon they were in a black nothingness.

"Peth... are you sure you know what you're doing?" Trigger asked. He looked around; but Peth'Mael wasn't there anymore. Then, he felt the ground shake. He looked down, and found he wasn't on ground anymore. He reached upwards, grabbing at anything possible, as he plummeted from the sky. He didn't even notice that below him was a chapel.

---

The small group moved quickly and efficiently. Most of the priests allowed themselves to be knocked out; willing to get out of the situation. Others suffered minor bruises, and a few were simply foolish enough to trip over something and knock themselves out. The job seemed easier than expected.

"Alrighty boys, bring em out!" The bandit leader said. Soon, more bandits filed in from the side rooms; bringing along with them the Feral Ones. The Feral Ones growled with hunger and rage, and drooled incessantly. Already transformed, their sizes were much bigger compared to their normal laguz counterparts; and the mercenaries knew they were much stronger.

---

Mist sighed as she jutted her staff into the stomach of a priest; who curled over, smiling. He fell to the ground, unconscious, as Mist looked behind him. At the top of a small four-step set of stairs, growled a Feral One. She stepped back in fear, as it growled louder. The Feral One leapt off of the steps, and landed just a few feet away from her. Mist quickly brought out a staff and held it towards the Feral One.

"S-s-sleep!" She mustered, as her wand began to glow. The Feral One looked at the brightness intently, but did not fall asleep. Her wand cracked; its last use gone, and crumbled into glass shards in her hands. The Feral One looked back at her and growled; the distraction gone. Not wanting to yell out for help in case she angered it more, she backed away slowly. She found herself against a wall, as the Feral One creeped closer; the scent of meat too strong now to get it distracted by anything else.

**Chapter 40:**

Trigger reached for anything. A branch, a bird, anything that could stop him from falling. Peth'Mael hadn't done this on purpose, had he? Or, was it that, since the magic wasn't his own, he wasn't attuned to it? Trigger wondered how he even had the time for thoughts like this.

Then, he hit something. It didn't hurt at all; but the shock made him scream anyway. Glass shattered underhim, and soon he found himself falling through a roof window of the chapel. As he fell, he heard the slightest sounds of battle. Then, he hit the ground; or at least something like it. It was softer, and yet still hurt upon impact. He closed his eyes, as the pain dulled into slumber.

---

Mist blinked once, twice, and finally a third time; looking and absorbing what happened. out of nowhere, Trigger had fallen from the sky. Onto the Feral One, no less. Though; she doubted that through this miracle, that he had come unscathed. Pieces of beautiful glass lay about, and she walked up slowly.

The Feral One seemed to be knocked out; and Trigger's dead weight was on top. He was okay, right? She prodded him until he awoke; which he did so with a startle. Mist yelped and jumped back, but then coughed.

"Trigger!" She exclaimed, once he was awake. "You're alive! Thank the Goddess!" She said. Trigger got up weakly, moaning. He arched his back and cracked it, then reached out; stretching his sore limbs.

"Yeah... mmph... seems so." He said. He smiled awkwardly, and then looked around. "So what have I missed?" He asked. Mist pointed around. Trigger's eyes darted around the chapel; the Mercenaries were fighting. How is it that Mist was left unnoticed?

"These bandits have taken the priests at this chapel hostage..." Mist started to explain. "Ike didn't want any major damage to happen to the priests, and so I was knocking one out when the Feral One leapt at me." She said, pointing behind Trigger.

"Feral One?" Trigger said, looking behind him. They both watched as the Feral One began to move slightly, and Mist inhaled a breath and stepped back. She held her breath, as Trigger moved in front of her. Mist held back the urge to scream. "Go get Muarim." Trigger whispered.

"What?" Mist asked, a little too loudly. The Feral One stirred, and began to rise to its feet. Trigger leapt back, pushing Mist to the ground; as the Feral One suddenly lunged above them. The two fell off to the side, Trigger arcing his jump so he broke Mist's fall.

"Go! Get Muarim, anyone! I'm not going to be able to hold this one off for very long." Trigger said. Mist stood up and ran, instantly heading into the fray. Trigger took his defensive stance, but then a sharp pain rose up his left arm. The fall must have hurt him more than he thought.

He glanced back at the Feral One, who leapt at him fiercely. Trigger raised his right arm in defence; which felt awkward because he usually defended with his left. He caught the Feral One in mid-jump; as the beast began to bite down on his dagger. He shifted his weight to the side, sending the Feral One off to the side as well.

The beast landed neatly on all fours, and let out a roar. Trigger stepped back, wincing as his left arm brushed the wall. This wasn't good.


	11. Ending A

**Author's Note:** This is Ending A. I did voting between a lot of friends and people who read this; and this ended up being the first ending choice. I'll write Ending B once I have the time.

**Chapter 41: The Start of the Ending A**

Mist ran as hard as she could, as fast as she could. She darted between bandits, pushing a few priests aside. She found Ike busy with two bandits, and decided that he couldn't help. She looked around; Soren seemed to be free of battle for the moment. She ran up to the mage; instantly regretting to do so. Would he even help Trigger?

"Soren!" She cried out. Soren looked at her, almost angrily. "Soren please, you have to come with me! Trigger's in trouble!" She said. The mage simply stared for a while, then nodded.

"Show me the way." He said. She nodded and began to run back, and found themselves stopped by two priests. Soren raised a hand and opened his spell book; but Mist stood in his way. She held her hand on his book; making it impossible to read the incantation. "What are you doing?" Soren said angrily.

"They aren't the problem. He's over in the far corner; go! I'll get these guys." She said. Soren bit his lip, then ran past her. He darted under the arms of the priests, who opened holy books. They began to chant the spell for a Shine spell, and Soren nearly slowed down.

Mist ran up as fast as she could, tackling one of the priests down. He dropped his spell book and the other looked to see if he was okay. Mist quickly stood and slapped the standing priest hard. He looked at her, shocked, then noticed something from his hands was missing. He looked back at Mist, who had the Shine book in her hands.

The priest half expected to be torn apart by balls of light; but instead found something blunt hit the side of his head. He fell to the ground, unconscious. Mist stood over him, heaving. She dropped the Shine book on the ground, and turned around. She had forgotten about the other priest.

She found herself being encased by light. She punched at the walls only to find them as solid as stone. She yelled, and suddenly the light shattered. She stood, breathlessly, wondering what happened. Her yell didn't break the barrier, did it? She looked around to find the priest knocked out on the ground. She smiled when she saw who did it.

"Muarim!" She said happily. The laguz looked at her with a warm smile.

"Careful now." He teased, but Mist looked at him with seriousness. "What's wrong?" He asked. Mist took a deep breath, and blurted everything out at once. The laguz didn't understand everything she said, so he stopped her mid-sentence.

"Start over. You're speaking too fast." He said. Mist took another deep breath.

"Trigger's here! And he's in trouble! You've got to come with me to save him! Soren's already on his way to help!" Mist said. Muarim began to scan the area; where was Trigger? He felt a soft hand grab his arm and pull. Mist knew exactly where she was going. She felt the arm disappear, and soon found a green tiger by her legs. Instantly understanding, she hopped on. Muarim began to bound off towards the fray once more; with directions from Mist veering him towards Trigger.

---

Trigger breathed heavily. His left arm was hurting; the Feral One noticed the weakness of his left side and began to take advantage. He suffered scratches and bites on that arm, not to mention the probable breaking of it after the fall. He held his right arm up weakly, as the Feral One growled at him.

He stepped back, finding himself in the corner. «Great...» He thought. «This is JUST what I need right now.» He began to look warily at the Feral One. It reared back for a killing strike, and leapt at him; jaws agape. Trigger turned around and leapt at the wall. He bounded off one wall, then the other, in a triangular-jump; over the Feral One. The beast stopped just short of ramming into the wall, and whirled around.

Needless to say, his landing was much less graceful than his leap. He fell to the ground, tumbling about. It didn't help that his left arm began to flail, and smack against the ground. He opened his eyes and saw the Feral One in the corner, ready to strike. It leapt in the air again, and Trigger knew he wouldn't be able to leap out of this one.

He closed his eyes, awaiting his impending death; when he heard a fizzle and a crack. He opened his eyes to see the ground charred, and the Feral One thrown to the side. He got up weakly, until a hand was offered to him. Soren stood above him, and for the first time Trigger saw a smile on his face. Trigger took his hand and was helped up, and smiled back.

"That was a close one." Trigger said. Soren shrugged, and the two held their breath as they heard something like a soft mewling. How the Feral One survived a head-on blast from Soren's spell; neither knew. They only watched in horror as the beast rose to all four legs, shaking off what had happened to it.

"Damn..." Soren said, stepping back slightly. He heard soft clinking behind him, and soon the two were pincered between the Feral One and a bandit. The spell had created a sort of light that drew the bandit here. "I'm not going to be able to defend us from both. Which one would you choose to fight, Trigger?" Soren said. Trigger grumbled. He was in no shape to fight either.

"I'll take the bandit. At least he's stupid." Trigger said, loudly. Soren instantly knew his plan. They whirled around to face their respective enemies, and Trigger saw the bandit becoming angrier and angrier. The bandit rushed prematurely, out of his rage, and left himself easily open. Trigger darted under his axe easily, and turned around. He kicked the bandit in the back of the knee, making the man crumple to the ground. Over the bandit, he could see as Soren began firing off bolts of lightning, not letting the Feral One get close to him.

He felt his ground being taken away as the bandit grabbed his leg and held him upside down. The instant vertigo hit like a brick wall, and he found himself feeling sick. The bandit brought him up to his face and smiled; breathing out. His breath reeked of decay, and his teeth showed the same thing.

"Stupid, am I? At least I'm not about to die!" The bandit said. Trigger watched as the bandit's axe rose in the air, then made its descent.

**Chapter 42:**

Trigger felt something hard hit his head, and instantly pain began to rush up his entire body. He felt something warm trickle past his ear, and opened his eyes. It felt pained to do so; but he wanted to see.

The bandit held him, smiling. His head racked as if he had been run into a full-speed horse. The bandit held up his axe; one of the flat sides of it covered in crimson blood. Trigger wanted to say something; but the pain made his mouth unmovable.

"Can't have you dying on me that fast, can I?" The bandit said. He leered at Trigger, then let out a hearty laugh. Trigger felt his body being whirled in the air, as he hit his head again; this time something harder. He felt walls on both sides of his body; so he must have been in a corner of some sort.

The bandit leapt at him, landing a few feet away. Trigger looked up weakly, one of his eyes closed shut. Blood trickled over that eye, and he knew he was nothing more than a mess. The bandit smiled, and brought his axe in the air; flat side once again about to be used. He brought it down, and Trigger closed his eye again; giving up. But the hit never came.

---

Soren hopped back, avoiding a couple of swipes from the Feral One. It was agile and powerful, and hunted like a beast. Though, even with all the feral instincts, it still wasn't the smartest thing he'd ever fought. It did, however, learn quickly.

Every time he opened his tome, the beast lunged; not allowing him to cast a spell. He kept dodging whenever the beast leapt though; aware that the creature was attacking. It always did the same thing; a lunge for the book; and Soren anticipated the move easily. However, if he had to keep dodging, he would never get his spell off.

He opened his book one last time, and the beast lunged. He stood, unmoving, until the creature was right in front of him. He then closed the book and brought it up at an alarming speed, heading the crushing of the beast's head as he flung it full-force to the side.

Mist always was someone you could learn the oddest things from.

He opened the book and faced the dazed creature. He moved his hands in a memorized motion, muttering the incantation. Soon, his eyes glowed a faint yellow and he glared at the creature.

"Elthunder!" He bellowed, as clouds appeared out of nowhere. Three lightning bolts of immense power came rushing down at the creature. They all hit dead on, and it cried out horribly. Soren didn't let up; calling down more lightning as the creature continued to shriek.

He stopped the spell, falling tired to his knees. He looked back up; at the charred remains of a Feral One. He stood up weakly, then heard a sickening thud to his side. He whirled and found Trigger knocked into a corner; bleeding from the side of his head and the front.

He raised himself off the ground and opened his book weakly, but something green rushed past him. He suddenly felt invigorated, and was soon covered by a white light.

"He'll be okay." A voice said from behind. He caught someone in his peripheral vision nodding, and soon the green blur rushed off again. Soren smiled faintly, then fell back.

Mist caught him, though unprepared, and nearly fell back herself.

"Soren! Soren! Come on!" She said, shaking the mage. He mumbled a bit, and she smiled. At least he was alive. She set him gently against the wall, and hoped he would be okay alone.

---

The bandit brought his arm down, ready to smash Trigger's face into nothingness; but found it stopped. He looked behind him to see a man holding his arm firmly. He tried to wriggle his arm free, but then the man brought his arm back hastily, and in a direction it was never meant to go. The bandit let out a scream, as Trigger opened his still-clean eye.

"You okay there, Trigger?" The man said. Trigger smiled faintly, as the bandit fell to the ground. The man looked down at him, and the bandit looked up in pain; only noticing the man had stripes on his face. "You're still here?" The man said, throwing the bandit to the side. The man walked over to Trigger and held him up; looking at his face.

"You sure took a beating... I'm sorry I couldn't get here earlier." The man said. Trigger smiled, and his head lolled to the side uncontrollably. The man held it up firmly, and shook Trigger slightly. "Trigger! Stay awake, you hear? Don't you die on me!" The man said.

"I wouldn't... be dead..." Trigger started, as his bitter blood began to enter his mouth. He coughed it up, along with more blood, and watched it spatter on the ground and somewhat on the man's arm. "If you were here... Muarim..." Trigger said. He smiled, and Muarim hugged him.

"Sorry to ruin your reunion, but this isn't over!" The bandit muttered, getting up. He held is axe in his other hand; apparently he was ambidexterous. He threw his axe at the two, and Trigger saw this over Muarim's shoulder. His eyes narrowed and he fidgeted.

"Trigger?" Muarim said, as he felt his younger brother move slightly. He heard a yell from his side, and turned. He saw Mist ahead, trying to tell him something.

"Watch out!" She yelled, as Muarim turned around. He saw the axe coming; but knew that there was nowhere to run. They were still in the corner, after all. The axe closed in quickly, and he was about to tell Trigger to stay put. He felt movement and watched as something blurred in front of him for once. Trigger hugged his brother hard, getting in the way of the axe.

The axe pierced Trigger's back, making a disgusting sound as it did. Trigger jerked against his brother; pushing him into the corner. As the axe entered, blood exited from his mouth, staining Muarim's shirt. Muarim fell off balance, ending up back in the corner. Muarim could only shake his brother, and Trigger looked at him, eyes already glazed and blood slowly pooling in his mouth.

Trigger heaved himself up, and whispered something in Muarim's ear. Then, he fell limp, and the older laguz shook violently. He hugged Trigger hard, and let out a roar.

"TRIGGER!"

**Chapter 43:**

"Trigger... Trigger!" Muarim said, shaking his brother. The last words his brother said to him... The last things he whispered into his ear... They couldn't be the last words he'd ever hear from his mouth! "Trigger..." Muarim said, as he noticed his hand being stained with his brother's blood. Then, his gaze fell on the axe.

Tears streaming down his face, Muarim took a grip on the axe's handle. He pulled it out of Trigger, and then shot a glare at the bandit. Mist came running down, trying not to break down, and Muarim handed her Trigger's body. He stood up, his gaze on the ground, and started to walk over to the bandit.

---

"Trigger!" Mist said, crying. He didn't move, he didn't smile, he didn't respond. He didn't do anything. She lay him on his stomach, and pulled forth her staff weakly. Her hands trembled, and she breathed erratically. Her staff began to glow, and she directed the magic at Trigger.

But the wound didn't close. There was no pain to heal, no blood to stop flowing. The heal staff could not heal what could no longer be healed; and Mist broke down. She dropped her staff, and lifted Trigger weakly in her arms. She looked at his face, and began to wipe away the blood from his face.

"Trigger..." She said solemnly, then looked back at Muarim.

---

"Are you alright?" Ike asked, as he helped up a priest. The priest nodded, and got up, brushing off his robes. Ike turned back to the bandit, who was strewn shamelessly on the ground. "Call off your men. You have lost." Ike replied. The bandit began to shake.

Then, laughter erupted from the bandit.

He rose quickly, trying to make a final attempt at Ike's life. The Lord sighed then barely made a movement; as the bandit soon found himself impaled on Ike's sword. He made a weak swipe at Ike's face, then dropped his axe. It fell to the ground, making a sharp clang as it hit. Then, life left the bandit.

"It's over." Ike said, pushing the bandit off his blade. He walked back with the priest, towards the opposite side of the church, where most of the others had fought. Then, his gaze fell on Muarim, slowly advancing on a bandit.

---

The bandit stepped back casually, but slipped after a couple of steps. Then, he started to flail and squirm, trying to make any possible distance between himself and the horror before him.

"You... you killed my brother... my only family left... you attacked priests and children, without any hesitation! You are... are a disgrace to life, and do not deserve to live!" The laguz said, raising the axe. The bandit quickly curled up into a ball, but the strike never came. His axe fell in front of his face, and he looked back up.

The laguz was crying.

"Do you know... what he said? What Trigger said?" Muarim replied, his tears falling near the axe. The bandit didn't move, didn't avert his gaze, and didn't even breathe. "He saved your life, with his last words! You... his killer, he chose to save you! And you're damned lucky... that I... that I respect his words..." Muarim said. The bandit got up, and took his axe.

He opened his mouth to say something, but then held his words back. He began to run away, when he found himself knocked on the head by a fist.

"I never said... you could leave..." Muarim replied, biting back tears. He trudged back to the corner, and noticed Mist cleaning up his brother's face. He smiled at her, and took his brother.

"Thank you." He said, solemnly lifting him up. Mist nodded, and stepped back. Muarim turned around, and met Ike's gaze. Soren moved in behind Ike; both sharing a sombre glance.

"Muarim..." Ike started, but the laguz shook his head. "I know, that... nothing I can say will take away the pain. But... don't hold it all on yourself... we're all feeling it..." Ike said. Muarim looked back at the Commander, and nodded solemnly.

"Are..." Muarim started. "Are... you willing... to hold a funeral?" Muarim asked. He sighed, and shook his head. "I'm sorry, this isn't the time. We're so close to the capital..." He started, but Ike's hand fell on his shoulder. He looked up, and saw the Commander's eyes agreed.

"We can stop..." Ike said. Muarim smiled, and tears flowed again from his eyes.

"Thank you.." Muarim said. Ike turned to the priest who followed him, and whispered something. The priest nodded, and ran off; making preparations. Muarim looked at Trigger again, and heard the words flowing through his mind again. The priest returned, with others, and silently stared at Muarim.

"We'll have to... clean him and..." The priest started, but Muarim nodded. He walked over to the priests, and looked back at Ike. The Commander smiled, and agreed silently, and Muarim walked away with the priests.

---

_"Hey... bro... don't kill out of revenge, or anger... It gets you nowhere... take it from someone who... who has had to learn the hard way... I don't want you... to end up... like me..."_

**Chapter 44: The End of Ending A**

The funeral stopped all attacks. Even Daein did not trudge on the camp's soil, even if they were wide open. Trigger was to be buried by the chapel; a monument to be made in his honor. If he were alive, Muarim knew that he wouldn't agree to such a flashy thing to be done.

But the Mercenaries wanted to remember him.

He had only been with them for a short while; and yet he had made his impact on many people. Everyone in the company knew who he was, though most hardly spoke to him.

After the readings, and as Trigger was being slowly let down into the ground, people walked up with their flowers.

Mia was the first.

She held back her words, and tried to hold back her tears. She dropped her flowers in, and then broke down. She walked back to the camp, and didn't come out of her tent until they moved out again.

Rhys and Mist were next. They both held purple tulips; they had convinced everyone to buy purple or white flowers from the nearby towns to honour him in some way. They dropped their flowers in, and Mist fell into tears on Rhys' shoulder.

"He was much more than a Branded child, much more. And we never even looked at him at what he truly was. For that, I feel ashamed. But I am glad to have known him, to have learned these lessons from him." Rhys said. Mist nodded in his shoulder, and the two walked off.

Soren was next, and he laughed silently. Though; his laughter was mixed with sobs. He sluggishly threw in a couple of flowers, and stared at the hole.

"At first, I thought you a monster. Then, I thought that you and I were the same. But I've realised, that you're much better than me. I wish I had never said those things to you; but know now that I respect you. I'm... sorry..." The mage said. He walked off, and Rolf, Boyd, and Oscar were next.

Boyd hadn't known Trigger; not any more than what he had seen through quick glances on the battlefield. Rolf, however, threw in a bow along with some flowers.

"I... I made this the night I found out... at first I thought to strike you with it... but then I realised that you were still you. I... I want this bow to shoot a guiding arrow for you, Trigger." Rolf said. Oscar smiled, and placed a hand on his youngest brother's shoulder.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." He said, as the three walked away. Mordecai had gone up, growling a few words. Muarim understood it as an old laguz prayer, and then the giant lumbered off.

What surprised Muarim, was that Reyson was present. He wondered if they knew each other; but Reyson said he didn't.

He did, however, grace Trigger with a song. When Reyson usually sang, Muarim felt invigorated; as if he could go on forever. But the Heron's song was sombre and slow, and Muarim felt as if Reyson was singing Trigger's true pain.

Soon, only he and Ike were left.

"I... I accepted you into this giant family. You had... nowhere to go, and... we welcome you with open arms. And now... you have to leave this family; but we'll never forget you. Even if we were scared... we were still your family. We shall forever stand behind you, Trigger." Ike said. He dropped in a crest along with his flowers, and left.

Muarim walked up slowly to the gaping hole, and sighed. He sat down; as if he were gonig to have a long sermon with his brother.

"Trigger..." Muarim started. "I want to say things like: 'I wish I was there for you', or 'I could have stopped this', but I know that you'd tell me that I'm being stupid or something, and you'd make me stop."

"You were... I guess, a beacon of hope. I wanted to go back... to Gallia... with you and Tormod. But saying that, you'd probably come back telling me to get up and go back anyway."

"Just because you're dead, doesn't mean you're gone. I know that. I'm going to keep going; for the both of us." Muarim finished. He stood up, and held out the green pendant that had been left with him when he was injured. He dropped it down the hole. He left, and soon the priests filled the hole.

Near the tombstone, Trigger's double daggers were jutted into the ground; crossing in an X.

On the tombstone read:

A valiant warrior,  
A cherished brother,  
A friend to us all.

Rest In Peace, Trigger.

---

At camp, things continued on in their sombre fashion. As Muarim walked back, people glanced at him, but he smiled.

Things weren't over.

Ike suddenly started ordering people to get ready. The fight was nowhere near from over.

Muarim heard him say a speech, but didn't bother to listen. One line, however, did make an impression.

"If you want to stop anyone else close from dying, we have to stop this! We can't let this death hang on our shoulders and weigh us down! Trigger wouldn't want that! He'd probably be there, pushing us up!"

The line was followed by cheers, and Muarim smiled. Trigger wouldn't want that.

Not at all.

For once in his life, Muarim suddenly felt warm inside. He had felt cold, and shivered, ever since Trigger died.

But now, he felt warm. As if he could melt all the snow around him.

He looked up to the sky, and smiled.

"Thanks, Trigger."

---

**Epilogue to Ending A:**

Muarim headed back to Gallia, once Ashnard had been defeated. Not much was recorded about him; but that he became an emissary of Gallia.

He was noted to start sporting double daggers on his back. Few people really knew why.

---

Muarim found himself back at the grave of the Daein church, from two years ago. He smiled; the daggers still there, and placed a hand on the ones on his back.

"... Things have changed since then." He continued "And... Your work isn't finished. Our work isn't finished. Not yet. But you'll be there... right?" Muarim asked.

"Muarim!" A voice called. Muarim looked down the hill, to see Tormod running up. He smiled. The young boy had become a fierce mage; and was helping bridge relations between laguz and beorc. "Oh, I'm sorry if you were busy..." Tormod started. Muarim smiled, and ruffled his hair.

"Nah. I think Trigger's bored today. Probably would tell me to go away, or something. Say I'm rambling on like an old man." Muarim said. Tormod chuckled. The two began walking away.

"Yeah... then again you're not very young." Tormod said. Muarim laughed, and Tormod bolted forward. Muarim gave chase, and Tormod laughed too. "I was kidding!"

He didn't notice the rusty daggers in the grave, or how Muarim sported Trigger's daggers on his back.


	12. Ending B

**Chapter 41: The Start of Ending B**

The Feral One leapt at Trigger, and he sidestepped to the left. His left arm brushed against the wall again; and this time the pain rushed through his entire body. He cringed, and stopped movement; and the Feral One took advantage.

It leapt at him again; making a slash for his chest. He brought up his right hand again to block; but the beast didn't stop. It grazed across his arm; leaving three parallel gashes. It retreated back; and Trigger looked behind him. He was nearly sidling the wall; but he was out of the corner. Which gave him more room.

It didn't help that both of his arms were out of comission. He looked at his right arm; and only then noticed that his hand was empty. He couldn't move his arm; nor even squeeze his fingers into a fist. The beast had cut something; a nerve perhaps?

He looked back up; and smirked. His right arm paralyzed; and his left arm broken, he wasn't able to do much more than run. He felt tears sting his eyes, and laughed softly at himself.

"Look at you, Trig..." He said, as the Feral One lunged again. He easily evaded by hopping back; but without arms he had no balance. He teetered back until he hit a pillar. "You're a mess..." He said, laughing a little more. 

The beast lunged again, and he ducked. As expected; the beast had gone head-first into the pillar. At the speed it had gone at; Trigger knew that it had knocked itself out. He got up to walk away, and his gaze met that of a bishop. The bishop shook, barely holding a tome in his hands. Trigger looked at him, then smiled. He shrugged; motioning his gaze to his hands, and shook his head.

"If you're going to kill me, do it now. As you can see, I can't fight back. I'm also way too tired to run anymore. This is your chance." Trigger said. He looked back at the bishop, and stared angrily. "What will you do?"

He heard the bishop yelp and mutter a few words. Soon, Trigger saw floating balls of pure light and smiled. He stared at the bishop, and the holy man nodded back. He sent the balls of energy flying, and Trigger smiled. Tears ran down his face, and he sighed.

_«Sorry... everyone... I wanted to do so much more...»_

**Chapter 42:**

Mist found just who she was looking for, and tugged on his arm. He acknowledged her presence; and smiled down at her. 

"Something wrong, Mist?" He asked. She pointed back to where she had came.

"Trigger! And a Feral One!" She said. "Muarim, you have to help!" She added, tears streaming down her face. Muarim knelt by her, and looked her in the eyes.

"Trigger's here? Are you sure?" He asked. She nodded. "You have to tell me everything." He added. Mist shook her head, and pointed again.

"There's no time!" She said, running. Muarim looked over his shoulder; and saw that they were getting outnumbered up here. Could he just leave?

He felt someone hit his back and he whirled around; to find Ike in a defensive stance. He cracked his knuckles; but the Lord waved his hand.

"There are other places you should be." Ike said. Muarim nodded, and ran off. Ike turned back to the bandit he was facing. "Now, let's dance!" He said, charging at the bandit.

---

Trigger stood, awaiting the final blow to be dealt; and he saw the balls of light fly at him. He instinctively tried to raise his arms in defence; but he remembered that they had been taken out of comission.

However, the balls of light never made contact with him.

He watched as they whizzed by, and he heard something behind him. He whirled around weakly; and saw the Feral One pierced by arrows of light. He smirked; it hadn't knocked itself out after all, it just stunned itself for a few seconds. He stared back at the bishop, who was smiling.

"You don't think I'd kill a friend, do you?" The bishop said. Trigger looked at him again; and realised he knew the face. He walked forward at the holy man; who outstretched his arms.

"P-Peth'Mael?" He said weakly. He fell into the awaiting arms, and smiled. "I thought... that you had left me..." Trigger added. He heard the bishop chuckle, and found himself being lifted up to stand.

"I'm sorry for the fall; I've never used that magic before." Peth'Mael replied. Trigger smiled; and glanced back at the fray. The fighting near the front seemed to have gotten thicker; and someone seemed to be approaching fast. He urged Peth'Mael aside; but the bishop stepped in front of him.

"I'd heal you if we had the time; but we don't. Your arms are going to do you no good here." Peth'Mael replied. Trigger stared as the incoming assailant leapt into the air. This Feral One seemed to wish to bypass the bishop; and head straight for Trigger.

The flash of green alerted him.

Peth'Mael was about to shoot off more arrows of light, when Trigger ran at the bishop. He side-checked the holy man; disrupting his spell.

"Trigger! What are you-" Peth'Mael started; but then he saw Trigger walk up to the beast. "Trigger! No!" Peth'Mael cried. The beast assumed a sitting positiong and Trigger smiled. The tiger nuzzled against his arm, and Trigger winced; pain rushing up his left limb.

"It's okay... it's my brother." Trigger said. Peth'Mael looked at him oddly; then the tiger assumed his beorc form. Trigger smiled, stepping closer to Muarim. "You came..." Trigger said. Muarim smiled, and ruffled his hair.

"Mist told me you were here. I wanted to make sure." Muarim replied. Trigger smiled; then looked back at the fray. Muarim turned around; glancing too. Peth'Mael slowly got up from the ground and walked over. Trigger laughed softly, and shrugged.

"Sorry about that." He apologized. Peth'Mael waved his hand, and looked at Muarim intently.

"Your brother is alive; but this is no place for a reunion. You should go; they need you out there." Peth'Mael said. Muarim looked down at the bishop. His robes weren't the same as the ones from this chapel; so where had he come from? He decided to ask later; the bishop was right. This wasn't the time. He looked back once at Trigger; who nodded as well. Muarim transformed back into a tiger, and bounded off into the fray.

"Hey, Peth..." Trigger started. The bishop looked at him with curiosity. "Enough time to heal my arms yet?"

**Chapter 43:**

Ike hopped backwards, evading large swings made by the bandit leader. He was a skilled fighter; unlike his underlings. Ike ducked under a heavy swing made for his head, and rushed forward. He brought his sword up to stab at the bandit's stomach; but he had to evade. The axe had stopped mid-swing, and now came crashing down upon him.

He rolled to the side, panting. The bandit leader sneered at him, and heaved his axe onto his shoulders.

"You can run all you like, little mouse. I'll squish you eventually." The bandit leader said. Ike grit his teeth, and rushed in.

The bandit leader brought his axe down hard for Ike's left shoulder. Ike rolled to the right; but he was too slow. The bandit leader had already brought his axe up to the right at a crescent angle. Ike brought his sword vertically to the left; hoping to block. The swing was too powerful, though, and he felt his sword starting to shatter.

In desperation, he leaned back. He brought the sword over his body and watched as he guided the axe to careen over his stomach. He threw the bandit leader's sense of balance off, and quickly made a lunge for his open shot.

At least, he thought it was an open shot.

The bandit leader brought forth his free hand and unlatched the axe on his back. He swung it at Ike; and the Lord didn't have any room to dodge. He leaned to the left; trying to deflect the best he could; but the axe still made contact with his right arm.

It didn't go very deep; and Ike looked at the axe again.

"Venin..." He said. The bandit leader laughed, and drew the axe up high to cleave at Ike's head. Ike stood to get out of the way; but the poison was already working it's magic. He felt dizzy, and dropped his sword, and looked back at the bandit leader weakly. He closed his eyes; suddenly losing energy.

The axe never came; but instead Ike heard a grunt. He opened his eyes weakly, and saw Muarim in front of him. The laguz had caught the axe with his right hand, and had already occupied the bandit's other arm with his left. Ike reached out weakly for his sword.

The bandit kicked it away; but Muarim used this time to push the bandit off balance. Before the bandit fell; Muarim took him by the arm and whirled him around. He let the bandit go skidding across the ground, and retrieved Ike's sword.

"You dropped something." Muarim said. Ike took the sword weakly, and let himself be propped up by Muarim. The two turned to the bandit leader; who was just getting up. "Give it up. Your cronies are dead; and you're the only one left. No one can help you." Muarim said. The bandit leader laughed.

"You seriously believe that? Look around you! Even without those fools; I still maintain the power in here!" The bandit leader said. Before they knew it; Ike and Muarim had been restrained by priests. Two had to restrain Muarim; but Ike was too weak and simply let himself lean against the priest. "See? Now, hold still while I chop you into mince meat!" The bandit leader said; taking his Venin Axe.

Ike started to breathe erratically; the poison starting to work. He tried to wriggle free; but his body couldn't do anything.

Then, suddenly he felt warm. He looked to the priest behind him; who winked. He started to move his right arm; and he glanced over. The wound was closing, and the poison was losing it's effects. His sword, however, was still on the ground out of his reach. He knew the priest couldn't let him go; the bandit leader was already in position to strike if they made a sudden movement.

He didn't expect, however, a blur of purple.

He heard a yell and glanced over at the bandit leader. He had a dagger stuck in his forearm of his right arm. He quickly switched weapon hands and swung at something.

Trigger.

The young Branded used the outstretched arm as a step and vaulted over the bandit; withdrawing his dagger from the bandit's arm. He landed behind the bandit; and before the leader could whirl around he had a dagger in his shoulder. Ike watched as Trigger drew the blade out; but at an angle, which made the bandit leader fall back.

He caught the bandit; and placed a dagger at his neck. The bandit leader dropped his axe, and sighed. The priests immediately let go; and Ike retrieved his sword. He stood above the bandit, and smiled.

"Unfortunately, I don't consider my underlings any lower than me. They're all my equals; and they can all best me at something. This one, in particular, is quite speedy; wouldn't you say?" Ike said. The bandit leader grumbled; and Trigger gave him a thumbs up.

That was the only opening that the bandit needed.

Neither Muarim, nor Ike, nor Trigger were expecting the bandit to make a desperation move. He brought his left arm up; his axe somehow in his grip again. He crushed Trigger's hand with the handle of the axe, and the branded screamed out in pain.

Ike realised what was happening; and moved in. Muarim made a dash as well; but he wouldn't get there in time. The bandit had regained balance and turned his back to the Lord; not seeing the incoming attack. Ike was about to thrust his sword into the bandit's back; when something poked out at him. Trigger had planted his dagger into the bandit's chest. The bandit fell back; but Ike saw that Trigger had not gone unscathed.

Trigger stood; with the axe cleaved into his right side. His face showed pain; and he coughed up blood. He took a firm grip on the axe and drew it out; and a scream of pain came with it. He dropped the axe, and it clattered against the ground. He fell to his knees; coughing up more blood.

Ike bent down to pull Trigger's dagger out of the bandit's body, and felt a rush of air as Muarim dashed past. He looked up, to see the laguz kneeling beside his brother.

"Did... did I get him?" Trigger said. Muarim held his brother in an embrace, and nodded. Trigger looked up to see Ike standing; his dagger in an out-stretched hand. Trigger smiled; and reached for it; but lost consciousness.

He hit the ground with a disgusting thud.

**Chapter 44:**

"Trigger..." A voice said eerily above him. He was laying on his back; and he opened his eyes slowly.

Nothing but whiteness all around him. He looked to the ground, and found himself on a stone pathway; but apart from that there was no colour. He stood up, dusting himself off, and realised that he wasn't in his normal clothing. Well, he was; but it too was white. The only colour, was the stone pathway.

And his skin, of course.

"Trigger... wake up..." The voice said. It sounded familiar; but he could place it. It was soft, and serene; a definite woman's voice. He whirled around, as the voice called out. "Walk again... Trigger..." The woman called out. Trigger shivered a little.

He was scared. He was alone. He had nothing to protect him. He looked around again, and decided to walk down the pathway. What else could go wrong?

He came to a small clearing of stones; with stone benches around a great, stone fountain. Though, no water ran through the fountain; it seemed to be more for decoration. Trigger walked up to the fountain; and saw that there was water in it, but it wasn't working. He looked at his reflection.

He looked exactly the same as when he looked at himself normally; but something felt different. Something was missing. He didn't know what; but something just felt like an empty space. He sighed, looking down again.

He noticed that his clothes seemed to save inwards on his right side. He looked down, and found that he was missing part of his side. Then, his memory rushed back. He had been cut by the bandit and...

"That's right." The voice said from behind him. Trigger whirled around, and faced a woman. She had long, flowing green locks, and her face felt so familiar. She smiled, and placed a hand on his side. "You got hit here, after you hit the bandit here." She said, pointing to Trigger's chest.

"Who are you?" Trigger asked. The woman was dressed in the same whiteness as he was; but she looked like she was wearing a nightgown. The woman smiled, and sat on the edge of the fountain. Trigger sat down beside her, and she pulled him in. She embraced him lightly, and he let her; it felt so right. Then, he understood. "Mom..." He said.

"It seems I'm not forgotten." She said. Trigger stood on the edge of the fountain, and it dawned on him. His mother smiled, and took his hand in hers. She was warm, and her touch was gentle.

"I'm... dead?" Trigger asked. His mother shook her head. "No? Then... why can I see you?" He asked. His mother smiled.

"You wanted to see me. So, here I am!" She replied, standing up. She placed her hands on her hips; smiling - striking a pose as well. Trigger smiled.

"Yeah, I did. I found him, mom." Trigger started. His mother glided gracefully back over, and smiled. "And now I think I've lost him... if I'm here." Trigger said, sadly. He felt his mother's soft hand on his chin, and he looked at her.

"I pulled you here to thank you, Trigger." His mother started. Trigger sat back down on the edge of the fountain, and looked up at her. "You see, when I died; I told you to find your brother, right?" She said. Trigger nodded, not quite understand. His mother chuckled. "Amidst all your hardships; you still pursued that goal. And, not only that; but you've become a fine idealist. I'm so proud of you." Trigger stood, his mother fading.

"Wait, mom!" He said. She disappeared in a flash of light, leaving a green pendant on the ground.

"There's still some explaining to do, isn't there, Trigger?" He heard his mother say. He smiled, and picked up the pendant. Then, the whole world exploded into an array of colour, and he found himself falling.

---  
"Trigger... wake up...Walk again... Trigger..." Muarim said. A priest had come and treated Trigger; but his robes were different. No one knew who he was; but he said that he knew Trigger. Muarim thought back to what happened.

_"Let me treat him." The priest said. Muarim backed off, and simply gazed at the priest. "You... uh... Tomenami?" The priest asked. The archbishop nodded, and came closer. "You house the great Ashera Staff here, right?" The priest inquired. The archbishop quickly understood, and sent one of the priests to retrieve it._

The priest had returned; with a great staff in hand. Adorned with two garnets at the top, and a small one at the tip; the staff curved and twisted oddly; and still fit perfectly in one's hand. Runes down the side, and a carving of the goddess Ashera herself in between the garnets. Muarim simply stared at the staff; already feeling the staff exude great power.

They handed the staff to the unknown priest, who stood up. His whole body had glowed yellow; and he said a prayer to Ashera. Then, he started an incantation; and Trigger's body lurched.

At first, Muarim was scared; but then he looked at Trigger more intently. His veins seemed to pop out into his skin; but what was more interesting was that they were pumping something vigorously. All the veins pumped something towards the axe cut; and soon Muarim saw it. Droplets of the Venin poison gathered, and floated in a small ball.

He sat in awe, as the unknown priest apparently finished. The ball of poison floated in front of his open palm. He closed his hand into a fist; and the ball imploded; the poison disappearing from existence. Then, Trigger coughed up some blood. Everyone turned to Trigger; and soon priests began to tend to him.

The unknown priest had left as soon as he had arrived; the Ashera Staff left on the ground. Muarim ran outside to thank him; but there was no sign of him anymore. Was it a miracle? A gift from Ashera? Muarim didn't know; but he was thankful for it anyway.

Muarim smiled, and took the pendant Trigger had left with him; when they were in almost the same situation, but their roles had been reversed. He placed it in Trigger's hands, and closed the Branded's fingers slowly.

As soon as Muarim had made Trigger's hand into a fist; Trigger bolted upright. Muarim yelled; at first out of fright. But doing do had scared Trigger too; then both realised where they were. People came to the tent; wondering if everything was okay.

They were greeted with the sight of Muarim hugging Trigger very tightly.

**Chapter 45:**

Trigger had gotten better; the camp started moving again, and soon enough the group found themselves outside Daein Castle. Pre-battle preparations were being made; and Trigger found himself at Muarim's tent.

"Hey uh... Muar?" Trigger asked. Muarim turned around; his headband clutched in his fist. Trigger smiled. "You still got that pendant I left here a while ago?" Trigger asked. Muarim nodded, and unclasped the necklace, handing it back to Trigger. The young Branded shook his head, and Muarim looked at him confused. They stepped outside, talking a walk.

"Didn't you want it back?" Muarim asked. Trigger shook his head again.

"That pendant is yours." Trigger replied. Muarim still didn't understand. "When a laguz is born, it is said that they are born cluching a stone; that very stone you have in your hands. The stone is the same colour as your hair, and skin while transformed. It's your own personal keepsake; and apparently it has the ability to boost your powers." Trigger explained. Muarim held the pendant in front of his face, and stared. "Also..." Trigger started. Muarim looked down.

"Trigger? What's wrong?" Muarim asked. Trigger smiled, and shrugged. 

"That stone is supposed to be given to the person that you want to spend your life with." Trigger said. Muarim looked at him, quizzically. "You know, that one person that only being around you makes you happy. That's what mom said, anyway." Trigger said. "Oh!" He exclaimed, suddenly.

"Oh? Did you remember something?" Muarim asked, as they walked. They proceeded past tents upon tents, and soon found themselves in the brush of the nearby forests.

"Mom... talked to me while I was asleep." Trigger said. Muarim nodded, and soon they came upon a small cliff. Trigger walked up to the edge, and sat; Muarim stood behind him. "She said, that she wanted to thank me for finding you. This whole time Muar... I've been finding you for mom. I haven't realised that I wanted to find you for myself too. You're the only family I've got..." Trigger said.

"Mom... I don't remember her. All I can remember is that she stood in the way of lashes for me... and she didn't yell out in pain; nor did she ever cry. She was so strong, and yet so gentle. Afterwards, she wouldn't shed a tear in secret; but went back to work. She told me once, that 'holding back tears of pain may save you from trouble later. Crying inside your heart allows you to absorb more pain.' I think I'm beginning to understand what she meant." Muarim replied. Trigger smiled, and looked back.

"Yeah. We'll vsit Mom's grave after all this is done. We'll put some flowers at her tombstone." Muarim said. Trigger sobbed, and Muarim looked at him oddly. "Trigger?"

"Mom was... buried in a giant hole with other dead slaves. She was given no respect... no care." Trigger said, tears streaming down his face. Muarim placed a hand on his shoulder, and Trigger looked back.

"Then we'll bring enough flowers for all of the slaves." Muarim said with a smile. Trigger nodded, and looked back into the sunset. Suddenly, there were arms around his neck. He looked down, and found Muarim's pendant clasped around him.

"Muar... this is for..." Trigger started.

"I know. The person that I'd rather spend my entire life with." Muarim smiled. Trigger shook his head.

"I... my pendant was stolen... and sold a long time ago..." Trigger started. Muarim ruffled his hair, and he started to cry. "And... Tormod... Shouldn't you give this to him?" Trigger started again. Muarim smiled.

"Tormod and I have a bond that's different. We don't rely on stones, or pendants to tell each other we'll always be there for each other." Muarim said. Trigger wiped his eyes, and nodded. "Come on, let's go back. We'll be moving out soon."

---

**Epilogue to Ending B:**

Trigger, Muarim, and Tormod walked down the streets of a city in Daein. After the war, Daein began to prosper again; the lands forgiving it, but never forgetting. That didn't mean they harbored any ill feelings, however.

Laguz, beorc, and branded all roamed free throughout Tellius; and Daein welcomed all three with open arms. Rumors of two certain wyvern riders becoming the future rulers of Daein spread out; and no one was sure about the future.

But the focus was on the present, anyway.

A glint caught Trigger's eye, and he looked over in a bazaar.

"Trigger! Come on; we can't stop at every shop!" Tormod said, annoyed.

"Hold on!" Trigger said. Muarim shrugged and Tormod and the laguz walked over; to see Trigger holding a purple stone in his hands. It was tied to a silver chain; made into a sort of locket. "Is this..." Trigger started.

"A thief came and sold it to me. I haven't been able to sell it; so I'll sell it to you for cheap!" The bazaar owner said. Trigger smiled, and bought it; leaving more than enough for change. The three began to walk down again, and Trigger eyed the stone cautiously.

"Is that yours?" Muarim asked. Tormod had been told the story, and pondered.

"If you're a Branded though, would you still carry out a stone with you at birth?" Tormod asked.

"Mom said I did... and..." Trigger started. He opened the locket, and inside was a small, pink flower. Trigger pulled it out, and smiled. "Dad had these all around the house... said they were mom's favourite..." Trigger said. He whirled around, and clung to Muarim's neck.

"Trigger! Hey, get off!" Muarim said; and soon a purple stone was dangling at his chest. Tormod smiled.

"Man, I wish beorcs were born with stones..." He said, pouting. He had been jealous before; but they had worked it over.

"Why? Would yours be pink?" Trigger said. Tormod blushed, and as they walked; they began to run circles around Muarim.

The laguz simply stared at the stone, and smiled.

"Okay! Okay, I'm sorry!" Trigger said, as Tormod sat on him; poking at his sides. Muarim pulled the mage off, and both dusted themselves off; and laughed.

This was their family.


End file.
